Cesar Marquez Perez: Villegas 2023

Weingut über: Villegas

-- Weingut: After many years of vinifying each Valtuille plot separately, it is in 2023 that the Villegas plot is bottled to create a new wine from the project. Villegas is one of the Grand Crus of Valtuille. In this place in the village we find a sandy beta on which our vineyards are planted. This sloping place with east orientation and sandy soils allows us to obtain the most elegant and different wines of Valtuille, very floral on the nose. Villegas as a place follows the path of El Rapolao, because several winemakers are already bottling their own plots separately. After a dry 2022 throughout Spain, 2023 began with a very cold, rainy winter with strong winds, like those of our childhood. Frost and cold days lasted until spring, which advanced with warm days, threatening an early bud break. After a warm and rainy May, temperatures dropped again in June. Then came more rains and thunderstorms along with some very hot days. This weather made us especially vigilant to avoid the appearance of mildew. July and August were characterized by moderate temperatures. In September the grape harvest began, with plenty of grapes but not very large bunches. It was a vintage like the ones of yesterday; the rains made us harvest many days with waterproof suits. A year with a rainfall of almost 900 litres/m2 has given us wines with more fluidity, reminding us of the 2001 or 2021 vintages. Fresh, floral and more delicate wines than the previous vintage. We picked the grapes manually, putting them to ferment in 1.000 liters containers, with a 30% whole grapes. The grapes are gently stepped on, so that a part of the grapes remains whole in the fermentation, which is carried out spontaneously by the yeast itself without adding any other. The maceration was carried out during 15 days in which the work of each day consisted of sinking daily the cap a bit with the hands. After 15 days, the bleeding and pressing is done, to let it settle for 7 days; after them, it is placed in a barrel and left to rest for 1 year.