Raul Perez

Raúl Pérez Pereira is universally considered to be one of the world’s most visionary winemakers. Since he produced his first vintage for his family’s winery in 1994 at the age 22, he has been in the forefront of the conversation about what has been called “The New Spain”. In 2005, he left his family business to strike out on his own, creating Bodegas y Viñedos Raúl Pérez, which quickly became the point of reference for the Bierzo appellation. In the intervening years, he has expanded his sphere of activity to include the appellations of Rías Baixas, Ribeira Sacra and Tierra de León, but his heart and his home remain in Valtuille de Abajo, the village in Bierzo where his family has been tending vines for well over 300 years.

Raúl Pérez takes nature very seriously. His priority is to exert the minimum influence on the grape, that’s how he understands wine. Observing every type of soil, each individual climate and the ripening times of every variety is the basis of his work, an endeavor that allows the wine to express itself without touching it, without any additives that transform it, taking the lead from the wood and leaving each vintage to modify itsel, thus achieving non-standardized wines. This method of working leaves an unmistakable stamp on his wines, ideal for drinking from the moment they are put on the market and which, after 15 or 20 years in the bottle, continue to show both character and freshness.