José Antonio García and his wife Julia Peña González have wanted to give a twist to their interesting family project in Bierzo, betting on more precise wines that reflect their old vineyards in Valtuille de Abajo and Corullón. Now they want to put the emphasis on “showing the uniqueness more.” Julia, the wine dedicated to José Antonio’s wife, is one of the spearheads of the new era initiated by this winery on El Puente de Valtuille de Abajo street, belonging to the municipality of Villafranca del Bierzo (León). Julia did not come from the world of wine. She worked in her family tire shop “doing a little bit of everything except changing wheels” before giving it all up for wine. And she didn’t even drink wine before she met José Antonio. She admits that “more than anything she was a beer brewer.” Today she is a wine lover, and she even baptized her daughter with the name Mencía, the star red variety of the DO Bierzo. She remembers, however, that her family always had micro vineyards, and that she harvested them before her husband started doing so. She defines herself as a “difficult and complex” woman. She is multifaceted and says she seeks balance “between faces and shadows.” José Antonio defines his wife as “a very dedicated person who doesn’t like half measures.” He means that “when she gets involved she does it completely.” He adds that she presents “a point of complexity,” and that she fantasizes little. In other words, she “seeks palpable realities” while José Antonio is more of a “fantasist.”
Julia Vinificación Singular is the fruit of a vineyard in Villafranca del Bierzo, planted on a steep unterraced slope that is transitional in terms of soil changes. In the valley area, between 600 and 850 meters above sea level, clay, sand and pebbles abound. Here wines with greater depth are obtained. At the top they reach 900 meters above sea level. From these grapes of the Mencia variety with some Godello and Doña Blanca planted more than 100 years ago, and grown in clay soil and gray laminar slate that is also decomposed, Julia Vinificación Singular is born. Its grapes are harvested by hand, in small boxes. José Antonio says that it is “vital” to harvest at the optimal moment of phenolic ripening. He makes the decision with a good part of intuition after tasting the grapes at the foot of the vineyard. The yield of their vineyards is only between 1,500 and 3,500 kilos per hectare. Julia is obtained from an old vineyard located about 500 meters above sea level at the entrance to Villafranca del Bierzo, with a slight slope and sandy soils in the lower part and black slate and decomposed minerals in the highest part.
They practice organic viticulture that respects the environment, and work in an artisanal way and with a selection of the best French cooperages. José Antonio seeks to “offer wines that transmit the essence of Mencia: expression, fruit, freshness and elegance.” Today there are 20 hectares of vineyards owned by family and neighbors of Valtuille de Abajo. They do not buy grapes from third parties. They work with Mencía varieties (60% of the total) and the rest with co-planted native white varieties (Godello, Doña Blanca, Palomino, Malvasía, Merenzao…). Its old vineyard was planted between 1920 and 1940. The planting density is between 4,500 and 5,000 vines per hectare. They practice organic and traditional viticulture. Green pruning work is carried out, work is done with vegetal cover and brush is cleared in moderation in addition to working the soils with the help of animal traction. Powdered sulfur and copper treatments are also applied. The conduction of their vines is that of the traditional glass, and they do not water. The harvest is manual and selective in the vineyard. It is made in 14 kilo boxes.
They use indigenous yeasts and bacteria. It is made with 100% well-lignified stems, vatted in a used French oak foudre that is filled in a single day. For five days it is trodden and pressed to return the must to the foudre for alcoholic fermentation, without temperature control. Malolactic fermentation is carried out in 500-liter lightly toasted French oak barrels, for third and fourth use. It ages for 6 months in the same barrels. The wine is not touched up with sulfites until bottling. José Antonio affirms that “the vintage will mark the character of the wine.” They have a continental climate with a great Atlantic influence.
Julia Vinificación Singular 2021 is a stylized red wine with a reductive character, marked by its slate soil. Ruby in color and low layer. Lots of ripe red fruit – even cherries in liquor in the aftertaste despite only having 12.5º alcohol – on a mineral background (graphite) and aromatic bush herbs. Great balance with very polished tannins. Silky tactile sensation. With a sweet touch, but without being cloying thanks to its good acidity. Without showing green notes despite being made with 100% raspón. To please a neophyte and also an expert winelover. And with only 12, 40º of alcohol.
José Antonio likes to enjoy his wine with a steak tartare. He says its acidity and freshness “cleanse very well, and the wine doesn’t interfere with the dish.” Julia prefers it with a burrata with tomato, although she specifies that the best pairing is with “good company.” The winery also proposes it as a good ally for meats, roasts and cheeses. But it is also a good companion to poultry cannelloni with foie, baked turbot or even sea and mountain rice or a traditional Bierzo botillo. They recommend serving it at a temperature between 10 and 12º C.
José Antonio García began his viticultural journey in 2010, resuming the family tradition “with a firm commitment to typicality.” Convinced of the importance of preserving small properties, the minifundio. He states that “they are where the peculiarities that allow us to make differentiated wines are hidden.” He was born in Barcelona (son of that generation that left Bierzo in search of new opportunities) and dedicated himself to the world of restoration in Castelldefels, but he wanted to return to his grandparents’ lands to take charge of the 75 plots that he had so carefully created. taken care of by his grandfather Santos García, a renowned winegrower in Valtuille de Abajo. There are six hectares of family vineyard with vines planted between 80 and more than 100 years ago, plus four other properties owned by small winegrowers.
José Antonio is also a friend and neighbor of the prestigious winegrower Raúl Pérez, who was his great teacher. He proclaims himself as a winegrower in love with Bierzo and Mencia. Joan Duran, the director of his distributor in Catalonia (Vadeuvas), defines him as an “indomitable perfectionist,” and adds that “this Hamelin of wine lovers leaves his mark, and his personality is transmitted to his wines.” Julia Peña remembers that they have inherited their vineyards thanks to the fact that their ancestors, who lived from their garden, vineyard and fattening pigs, preserved them even though agriculture “broke” with the arrival of industrialization with the mines in Bierzo. coal and the company Endesa. Julia says that in the past the people of Bierzo were already biodynamic, long before the word was coined. And that her ancestors lived off their agricultural and livestock production, and that they only bought salt, flour and sugar. Their annual production amounts to about 70,000 bottles, of which they export 74%. The United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are its three main international markets.
