Regions

Bierzo DO

Denominación de OrigenSpanish Denomination Hierarchy

BYEHR-thoh

A mountain-ringed basin in northwest León where old Mencía vines grow on acidic soils of quartzite and slate, now labelled by village, paraje and classified vineyard under the 2019 pliego.

Bierzo DO occupies an intramontane basin in the northwest of the province of León. The Consejo Regulador places the Bierzo comarca in the northwest of León, within Castilla y León, covering 2,954.28 square kilometres (18 percent of the province) and bordering Ourense, Lugo and Asturias. Officially recognized on 11 November 1989, the appellation runs across 31 municipalities, Ponferrada among them, and at the close of the 2025 harvest counted 2,300.19 hectares of registered vineyard, 981 registered growers, and 74 registered wineries (Consejo Regulador, October 2025). The pliego de condiciones says the vineyard, with an average age of around 75 years and old vines on 85 percent of its area, is mostly Mencía (75 percent); the Consejo Regulador gives Godello 16.7 percent of the grapes grown, the largest white share. The pliego places the vineyards between 355 and 1,200 metres, most of them between 400 and 800 metres, on acidic, carbonate-free soils that mix quartzite, sandstone, limestone, clay and slate. In October 2019 the Consejo Regulador announced that the Ministry of Agriculture had ratified a new pliego with designations for smaller geographical units (Vino de Villa, Vino de Paraje, Vino de Viña Clasificada and Gran Vino de Viña Clasificada), and the first village and paraje wines reached the market in June 2020. The 2025 harvest ran from 17 August to 13 October and brought in 10,687,452 kilos of controlled grapes, and the Consejo Regulador described it as balanced and of top quality.

Region profile

AppellationCool climateContinental

Altitude: 450 to 1000 m
Soils: slate, clay
Influences: altitude, sunshine

Grape mix

Dominant

Mencía 75%Godello

Significant

Malvasía

Minor

Trousseau Garnacha Tintorera

Signature: Bierzo Mencía (Mencía)

Acidity

Tannin

Alcohol

Styles

RedWhite

Producers Descendientes de J. Palacios Castro Ventosa Bodegas Mengoba

Compare Bierzo DO with another region

Read from this article's own text only. Signature values sit on a 1 to 5 scale across all wines; tap a bar for the sentence behind it.

History and the Modern Classification

Classification ladder

Geographic tiers

Bierzo Village and Vineyard Classification

Bierzo DO 4 tiers, lowest to highest

4 Gran Vino de Viña Clasificada

Gran Vino de Viña Clasificada requires the same single-vineyard provenance with yields at least 35 percent below and at least five years of prior use of the Viña Clasificada designation.

yields at least 35 percent below plus at least five years of prior use of the Viña Clasificada designation

Vino de Viña Clasificada requires a single classified vineyard and yields at least 30 percent below; Gran Vino de Viña Clasificada requires the same single-vineyard provenance with yields at least 35 percent below and at least five years of prior use of the Viña Clasificada designation.

From this article
3 Vino de Viña Clasificada

Vino de Viña Clasificada requires a single classified vineyard and yields at least 30 percent below.

Vino de Viña Clasificada requires a single classified vineyard and yields at least 30 percent below; Gran Vino de Viña Clasificada requires the same single-vineyard provenance with yields at least 35 percent below and at least five years of prior use of the Viña Clasificada designation.

From this article
2 Vino de Paraje

Vino de Paraje requires 100 percent from a single named site (paraje), with yields at least 25 percent below.

100% from named area

Vino de Paraje requires 100 percent from a single named site (paraje), with yields at least 25 percent below.

From this article
1 Vino de Villa

Vino de Villa requires 100 percent of grapes from a single named municipality, with yields at least 20 percent below the regional maximum.

100% from named areayields at least 20 percent below the regional maximum

Vino de Villa requires 100 percent of grapes from a single named municipality, with yields at least 20 percent below the regional maximum.

From this article

The four-tier pyramid was approved by the Consejo Regulador in 2019, with first wines under the new labels reaching the market in June 2020.
The classification replaced reliance on aging-based tiers, though traditional aging categories (Crianza, Reserva) remain in force.
The system explicitly mirrors the Burgundian regional-village-cru framework.

Tiers, criteria and figures come only from this article's own text. Tap a rung for its criteria and the sentence behind it.

The Consejo Regulador's history of the region records that Pliny the Elder and Strabo referred to vineyards in today's Bierzo about 2,000 years ago, and that the name derives from the pre-Roman city of Bergidum. It adds that the Romans gave a strong push to agriculture here, introducing new crops such as the vine, and the Roman gold workings at Las Médulas are today a World Heritage site. The Consejo links the greatest expansion of the vineyard to the medieval monasteries, above all the Cistercians, along the busy pilgrim route to the tomb of Saint James; the pliego counts 25 monasteries documented in the comarca before the desamortización. After centuries of production and some renown in the markets of Galicia and Asturias, phylloxera almost wiped out the vines at the end of the 19th century, causing an economic crisis and even emigration. Production recovered in the first half of the 20th century through grafting onto American vines, and the cooperative movement that arose in the 1960s still plays a very important role. The DO was provisionally recognized on 3 June 1988 and recognized on 11 November 1989, with its Reglamento published in the BOE on 12 December 1989. Work on classifying the vineyards began in January 2015, when the Consejo's board approved the process, and in October 2019 the Consejo announced that the Ministry of Agriculture had ratified the new pliego, calling Bierzo the first DO in Spain to adopt the classification by smaller geographical units. In February 2021 the Consejo Regulador obtained ENAC accreditation to certify wines under the UNE-EN ISO 17065 standard, which it describes as a first among Castilla y León wine DOs.

The Consejo Regulador cites Pliny the Elder and Strabo on Bierzo vineyards about 2,000 years ago and traces the name to the pre-Roman city of Bergidum
Medieval monasteries, above all Cistercian houses on the pilgrim route to Santiago, drove the largest vineyard expansion; the pliego documents 25 monasteries in the comarca before the desamortización
Phylloxera almost wiped out the vines at the end of the 19th century; grafting onto American vines restored production in the first half of the 20th century, and cooperatives have been important since the 1960s
Provisional DO recognition on 3 June 1988 and recognition on 11 November 1989; classification work began in January 2015 and the Ministry ratified the new pliego in 2019 (Consejo Regulador, 29 October 2019)

Key Facts

The Consejo Regulador records provisional recognition on 3 June 1988, recognition of the DO and approval of its Reglamento on 11 November 1989, and publication in the BOE on 12 December 1989; the pliego cites the Ministry Order of 11 December 1989 approving the Reglamento
The DO covers 31 municipalities in the province of León under the pliego; the Consejo Regulador says the 2019 amendment added 10 municipalities that were winegrowing zones in the past, among them Benuza, Toreno, Torre del Bierzo and Trabadelo
Consejo Regulador figures at the end of the 2025 harvest: 2,300.19 registered hectares, 981 registered growers and 74 registered wineries; 9,950,326 kilos of grapes went to DO Bierzo wines, 33.95 percent more than in 2024
Mencía is 75 percent of the vineyard per the pliego and 70.5 percent of the grapes grown per the Consejo Regulador's variety page; the pliego puts average vine age at around 75 years, with old vines on 85 percent of the vineyard area
Authorized varieties (pliego): red Mencía, Garnacha Tintorera, Merenzao and Estaladiña; white Doña Blanca, Godello, Malvasía Riojana and Palomino; red wines need at least 85 percent Mencía, Garnacha Tintorera, Estaladiña and/or Merenzao
The pliego describes a transition between oceanic and continental climate, with a mean annual temperature around 12.3°C, a thermal range around 16°C and average rainfall of 793 mm; the Consejo Regulador's production-zone page gives 721 mm and 2,100 to 2,200 sunshine hours a year
Smaller-unit designations in the pliego: Vino de Villa (municipality or pedanía, yields 20 percent lower), Vino de Paraje (named paraje, 25 percent lower), Viña Clasificada (30 percent lower, after five years as Vino de Paraje) and Gran Viña Clasificada (35 percent lower, after five years as Viña Clasificada)

Geography, Climate, and Terroir

The pliego describes Bierzo as a single tectonic basin formed in the Alpine orogeny: a ring of rounded, flattened mountains broken by isolated quartzite crests encloses lowlands cut by deep, narrow valleys, and the basin itself is made of Tertiary and Quaternary sediments. The Consejo Regulador adds that the Sierra de los Ancares acts as a natural barrier that calms Atlantic storms, and describes Bierzo as a set of small valleys in the mountain zone plus a broad, flat depression, the Bajo Bierzo. The pliego places the productive vineyards between 355 and 1,200 metres, with most of the vineyard area between 400 and 800 metres and vines in every orientation; the Consejo's production-zone page gives slopes from 450 to 800 metres facing all four cardinal points. Soils, per the pliego, mix quartzite, sandstone, limestone, clay and slate (pizarra), with a clay-loam texture, an acidic character and no carbonates. The Consejo describes vineyard soils on Miocene material under a Quaternary layer, moderately acidic with a pH close to 5.5, and hillside soils made of coarse elements, quartzite and slate. The pliego calls the climate a mix or transition between oceanic and continental, with a mean annual temperature around 12.3°C, a thermal range around 16°C, average rainfall of 793 mm with October, November and December the wettest months, and more than 300 hours of sun on average in each of July and August. The Consejo's production-zone page gives 721 mm of annual rainfall, a mean temperature of 12.3°C and 2,100 to 2,200 hours of sunshine a year.

A single tectonic basin from the Alpine orogeny, ringed by mountains with quartzite crests (pliego); the Consejo Regulador says the Sierra de los Ancares calms Atlantic storms
Vineyards from 355 to 1,200 metres, most between 400 and 800 metres, in every orientation (pliego); the Consejo Regulador gives 450 to 800 metres
Soils mix quartzite, sandstone, limestone, clay and slate, acidic and free of carbonates (pliego); the Consejo Regulador gives a pH close to 5.5 and hillside soils of quartzite and slate
Oceanic-to-continental transition climate: around 12.3°C mean, around 16°C thermal range, 793 mm average rainfall (pliego); 721 mm and 2,100 to 2,200 sunshine hours (Consejo Regulador)

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Mencía and the Authorized Grape Field

Mencía is the main red grape of Bierzo: the pliego says the old vineyards are mostly Mencía (75 percent), and the Consejo Regulador's variety page gives it 70.5 percent of the grapes grown in the production zone. In its tasting description for red Bierzo, the pliego describes fresh, structured, persistent wines of medium to very high colour with aromas of red and/or black fruit and/or violets, and it credits slow ripening for wines that are very fresh with a subtle acidity. The pliego puts the average vineyard age at around 75 years, with old vines on 85 percent of the vineyard area and plots planted since the late 19th and early 20th centuries. According to the Consejo Regulador, the red field also includes Garnacha Tintorera (1.5 percent of the grapes grown, also known as Alicante Bouschet), Merenzao (between 2 and 3 hectares, known as María Ordoña or Bastardo) and Estaladiña (under 2 hectares, also called Pan y Carne). The amendment approved in 2019 added Merenzao and Estaladiña, and 2020 was the first harvest in which wines of these varieties were made under the DO. Among whites, the Consejo gives Godello 16.7 percent of the grapes grown, Palomino 9 percent, Doña Blanca 2 percent and Malvasía 0.1 percent; the pliego allows white Bierzo from Godello, Doña Blanca, Malvasía and Palomino, and the Consejo says it is made principally from Godello and Doña Blanca. At the 2023 harvest, Mencía accounted for 8,259,018 of the 11,681,111 kilos destined for DO Bierzo wines and Godello for 2,530,383 kilos (Consejo Regulador).

Mencía: 75 percent of the vineyard per the pliego and 70.5 percent of the grapes grown per the Consejo Regulador; 8,259,018 of the 11,681,111 kilos for DO wines in the 2023 harvest
Average vine age around 75 years, old vines on 85 percent of the vineyard area, and plots planted since the late 19th and early 20th centuries (pliego)
Minor reds: Garnacha Tintorera (1.5 percent, also Alicante Bouschet), Merenzao (2 to 3 ha, also María Ordoña or Bastardo) and Estaladiña (under 2 ha, also Pan y Carne); Merenzao and Estaladiña were added in the 2019 amendment
Whites: Godello 16.7 percent, Palomino 9 percent, Doña Blanca 2 percent and Malvasía 0.1 percent of the grapes grown (Consejo Regulador)

The Producer Landscape

The Consejo Regulador's list of registered wineries includes Descendientes de J. Palacios, Bodegas y Viñedos Castro Ventosa, Bodegas y Viñedos Raúl Pérez, Bodegas y Viñedos Mengoba, Viñedos y Bodegas Dominio de Tares, Bodegas Estefanía and Verónica Ortega Camacho, among others. The Consejo's October 2019 announcement quoted Álvaro Palacios as the person responsible for Descendientes de J. Palacios and Ricardo P. Palacios as a member of the Consejo's board who is also responsible for the winery. In June 2020 Descendientes de J. Palacios was one of the first four wineries to put wines on sale under the new village and paraje labels, alongside Cantariña Vinos de Familia, Silvia Marrao Barreiro (Banzao) and Losada Vinos de Finca. Decanter's review pages list its Pétalos Mencía (100 percent Mencía, 2021 vintage) and Moncerbal, Corullón (92 percent Mencía and 8 percent Palomino, 2023 vintage). Castro Ventosa says the ancestors of the Pérez family were growing vines in Valtuille as early as 1752; its winery sits in Valtuille de Abajo at the foot of the western slope of Castro de la Ventosa, the Roman site that gives the project its name, and it calls itself one of the few Bierzo wineries with all its vineyards in its own ownership. Its Valtuille Cepas Centenarias, first made in 1999, comes from a single plot at Mata los Pardos. Grégory Pérez of Mengoba, Bordeaux-born and a 1998 graduate of the Blanquefort school of oenology and viticulture, worked at Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Château Cos d'Estournel between 1997 and 2000; his vines are in Espanillo at the head of the Cúa river, on steep south-facing slopes above 600 metres with soils of clay and decomposed slate. Dominio de Tares has worked Mencía, Godello and Prieto Picudo since 2000 in the DO Bierzo and the Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León, and made the first vintage of its Cepas Viejas Mencía in 2002. Bodegas Estefanía in Ponferrada makes the Tilenus wines, farms its vineyard organically and names Raúl Pérez as the person responsible for each of them.

Descendientes de J. Palacios: Álvaro Palacios quoted as responsible for the winery and Ricardo P. Palacios as a Consejo board member (Consejo Regulador, 2019); among the first four wineries with village and paraje labels in June 2020
Castro Ventosa (Valtuille de Abajo): Pérez family vine growers in Valtuille as early as 1752; named for the Roman site of Castro de la Ventosa; Valtuille Cepas Centenarias first made in 1999
Mengoba: Bordeaux-born Grégory Pérez farms steep slopes above 600 metres at Espanillo, at the head of the Cúa river, on clay and decomposed slate
Dominio de Tares (working in Bierzo since 2000; Cepas Viejas Mencía first vintage 2002) and Bodegas Estefanía in Ponferrada, whose Tilenus wines are made under Raúl Pérez

The 2019 Classification and Wine Laws

The pliego cites the Ministry of Agriculture Order of 11 December 1989 approving the Reglamento of the DO and its Consejo Regulador; the Consejo Regulador dates recognition to 11 November 1989. Red Bierzo must contain at least 85 percent Mencía, Garnacha Tintorera, Estaladiña and/or Merenzao; rosado needs at least 70 percent red grapes; white is made from Godello, Doña Blanca, Malvasía and Palomino; and the traditional clarete uses 40 to 60 percent red grapes, with 5 to 10 percent destemmed skins added to the fermentation. Maximum yields are 11,000 kilograms per hectare (12,000 for Palomino), irrigation is banned except in the first two years of new plantings, and wines must be bottled within the production area (pliego). The Consejo Regulador's wine page sets red Crianza at a minimum of two years of ageing with at least six months in oak barrels under 330 litres, Reserva at three years with at least twelve months, and Gran Reserva at five years with at least eighteen months. The new pliego added optional designations for smaller geographical units, which the Consejo lists as Vino de Villa, Vino de Paraje, Vino de Viña Clasificada and Gran Vino de Viña Clasificada; the pliego text names the top tier Gran Viña Clasificada. Vino de Villa requires 100 percent of grapes from a single named municipality, with yields at least 20 percent below the regional maximum. The pliego also allows the named unit to be a pedanía listed under a municipality, such as Valtuille de Abajo under Villafranca del Bierzo. Vino de Paraje requires 100 percent from a single named site (paraje), with yields at least 25 percent below. Vino de Viña Clasificada requires a single classified vineyard and yields at least 30 percent below; Gran Vino de Viña Clasificada requires the same single-vineyard provenance with yields at least 35 percent below and at least five years of prior use of the Viña Clasificada designation. Under the pliego, that vineyard is a single parcel or several adjoining parcels within one mapped paraje, Viña Clasificada also needs at least five years of use of the Vino de Paraje designation, and both tiers must be assessed by the Consejo Regulador before sale. The first village and paraje wines reached the market in June 2020, and the Consejo said then that the first Viña Clasificada wines would appear in 2025 at the earliest and Gran Viña Clasificada wines in 2030. The Consejo's legislation page also lists a resolution of 30 July 2026 giving a favourable decision on a further ordinary amendment to the pliego.

Pliego rules: reds at least 85 percent Mencía, Garnacha Tintorera, Estaladiña and/or Merenzao; rosado at least 70 percent red grapes; clarete 40 to 60 percent red grapes; maximum yield 11,000 kg/ha (Palomino 12,000); irrigation banned after the first two years of new plantings
Ageing (Consejo Regulador): Crianza 2 years with 6 months in oak, Reserva 3 years with 12 months, Gran Reserva 5 years with 18 months, in barrels under 330 litres
Smaller-unit designations: Vino de Villa (yields 20 percent lower), Vino de Paraje (25 percent), Viña Clasificada (30 percent, after five years as Vino de Paraje), Gran Viña Clasificada (35 percent, after five years as Viña Clasificada)
First village and paraje wines on sale in June 2020; the Consejo Regulador expected Viña Clasificada wines from 2025 at the earliest and Gran Viña Clasificada from 2030

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Visiting and Cultural Context

The Consejo Regulador calls botillo the most famous Bierzo product and links to the Consejo Regulador of the IGP Botillo del Bierzo, the DO Manzana Reineta del Bierzo, the IGP Pimiento Asado del Bierzo and the guarantee marks for Pera Conferencia and Castaña del Bierzo. Las Médulas, a Roman gold working that the Consejo calls the largest open-cast mine of the Roman Empire, has been a World Heritage site since 1997, and the Camino de Santiago crosses Bierzo. In Ponferrada the 12th-century Templar castle rises over the river Sil, and the Consejo also points to the Mozarabic churches of Santiago de Peñalba and Santo Tomás de las Ollas and to Villafranca del Bierzo, a Camino stop and historic capital of the comarca. The Consejo Regulador itself is based at C/ Mencía 1, Campo de San Bartolo, in Cacabelos.

Botillo is the most famous Bierzo product per the Consejo Regulador, which links to the IGP Botillo del Bierzo and the IGP Pimiento Asado del Bierzo
Las Médulas, a Roman gold working, has been a World Heritage site since 1997; the Camino de Santiago crosses Bierzo
Ponferrada's 12th-century Templar castle over the Sil, the Mozarabic churches of Santiago de Peñalba and Santo Tomás de las Ollas, and Villafranca del Bierzo, historic capital of the comarca
The Consejo Regulador is based at C/ Mencía 1, Campo de San Bartolo, in Cacabelos

Sources and last verified

Primary sources (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food pliego de condiciones and register entry, and the Consejo Regulador de la Denominación de Origen Bierzo): https://www.mapa.gob.es/dam/mapa/contenido/alimentacion/temas/calidad-agroalimentaria/2017-calidad-diferenciada/nuevo_denominaciones/pliegos-de-condiciones/pliego-condiciones-vinos/dops/bierzo_2021_07_23.pdf, https://www.mapa.gob.es/es/alimentacion/temas/calidad-diferenciada/dop-igp/detalle/vcprd/dop_bierzo, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/consejo-regulador/historia/, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/denominacion-de-origen/zona-de-produccion/, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/el-bierzo/el-bierzo/, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/denominacion-de-origen/variedades-de-uva/, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/denominacion-de-origen/vinos/, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/denominacion-de-origen/datos/, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/consejo-regulador/unidades-geograficas/, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/clasificacion/, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/consejo-regulador/legislacion/, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/comunicacion-ficha/noticias/el-ministerio-de-agricultura-aprueba-la-nueva-clasificacin-de-vinedos-de-la-do-bierzo/275/, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/comunicacion-ficha/noticias/los-primeros-vinos-de-villa-y-de-paraje-de-la-do-bierzo-salen-al-mercado/287/, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/comunicacion-ficha/noticias/el-bierzo-alcanza-los-114-millones-de-kilos-vendimiados-/292/, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/comunicacion-ficha/noticias/la-do-bierzo-alcanza-los-12959946-kilos-vendimiados/318/, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/comunicacion-ficha/noticias/la-do-bierzo-cierra-una-vendimia-equilibrada-y-de-mxima-calidad-superando-los-10-millones-de-kilos-de-uva/321/, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/el-bierzo/historia/, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/el-bierzo/gastronomia/, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/el-bierzo/patrimonio/, https://www.crdobierzo.es/es/bodegas-y-vinos/. Producer sources: https://www.castroventosa.com/en/home/, https://www.castroventosa.com/en/valtuille-cepas-centenarias-2/, https://www.castroventosa.com/en/el-castro-de-valtuille-mencia-joven-2/, https://mengoba.com/, https://www.dominiodetares.com/, https://www.dominiodetares.com/portfolio-item/cepas-viejas, https://tilenus.com/. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews/spain/castilla-y-leon/descendientes-de-j-palacios-petalos-mencia-bierzo-2021-70644/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews/spain/castilla-y-leon/descendientes-de-j-palacios-moncerbal-corullon-bierzo-89291/. Last verified 2026-09-25

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Flavor Profile

Bierzo Mencía shows a pale to medium ruby color with aromas of red cherry, fresh raspberry, dried violet, and white pepper. Palate entry is bright and precise, driven by high natural acidity and silky, fine-grained tannins with contained ripeness in the 12.5 to 13.5 percent alcohol range from cool-site work. Mid-palate complexity builds with herbal lift, earth, and mineral salinity before a clean, refreshing finish. Bierzo Godello shows lemon zest, white peach, and mineral salinity with a structured spine.

Food Pairings

Botillo del Bierzo (PGI cured-pork-and-rib preparation)Pulpo a feira (Galician octopus with paprika and olive oil)Roast lamb chops (chuletas) and aged-meat stews like estofado de corderoWild mushroom dishes (boletus, chanterelle, autumn harvest tradition)Aged Manchego (12+ months) or Castilian-style cured cheesesGrilled Iberian pork (cerdo ibérico) and pluma steaks

Wines to Try

Descendientes de J. Palacios Pétalos Mencía
Decanter's review page lists Pétalos Mencía as a dry red of 100 percent Mencía (2021 vintage, 13.5 percent alcohol), from the winery the Consejo Regulador named among the first to release village and paraje wines in June 2020.
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Castro Ventosa El Castro de Valtuille Mencía Joven
The producer gives the 2022 as 85 percent Mencía, 8 percent Alicante Bouschet and 7 percent white and other grapes from vineyards over 85 years old, made mostly from Valtuille de Abajo fruit drawn from around 352 small plots in 17 places, with an annual production of 140,000 bottles.
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Dominio de Tares Cepas Viejas Mencía
100 percent Mencía (2022), fermented with natural yeasts and aged 10 months in French oak barrels with an average of 18 months in bottle; the producer dates its first vintage to 2002.
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Bodegas Estefanía Tilenus Pagos de Posada
Listed among the Tilenus wines of Bodegas Estefanía in Ponferrada, which farms its vineyard organically and names Raúl Pérez as the person responsible for each Tilenus wine (producer site).
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How to Say It

BierzoBYEHR-thoh

Mencíamen-THEE-ah

pizarrapee-THAH-rrah

Godellogoh-DEH-lyoh

Ponferradapohn-feh-RRAH-dah

Corullónkoh-roo-YOHN

Valtuille de Abajovahl-TWEE-yeh deh ah-BAH-hoh

Vino de ParajeVEE-noh deh pah-RAH-heh

Exam Study NotesWSET / CMS

Bierzo DO: recognized 11 November 1989 per the Consejo Regulador (the pliego cites the Order of 11 December 1989); 31 municipalities in the northwest of the province of León; end of the 2025 harvest: 2,300.19 ha, 981 growers, 74 wineries
Mencía is 75 percent of the vineyard (pliego) and 70.5 percent of the grapes grown (Consejo Regulador); average vine age around 75 years, old vines on 85 percent of the area; Godello is the largest white at 16.7 percent
Red Bierzo needs at least 85 percent Mencía, Garnacha Tintorera, Estaladiña and/or Merenzao; clarete uses 40 to 60 percent red grapes with 5 to 10 percent destemmed skins in fermentation; irrigation is banned after the first two years of new plantings
Terroir: tectonic basin ringed by mountains; vineyards 355 to 1,200 m, mostly 400 to 800 m; acidic, carbonate-free soils with quartzite and slate; oceanic-to-continental transition climate with a mean around 12.3°C
2019 pliego: Vino de Villa (yields 20 percent lower), Vino de Paraje (25 percent), Viña Clasificada (30 percent, five years as Vino de Paraje), Gran Viña Clasificada (35 percent, five years as Viña Clasificada); first village and paraje wines in June 2020

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