Description
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Despite the threat of an early fire season, the vineyards in Bierzo in June had never looked so beautiful, with an abundance of vibrant green foliage that almost shimmered in the summer heat. It was the perfect time to return to the area as growers enthused about the promise of the harvest to come.
This is the third Bierzo Top 100, and over the course of a week, I visited 34 wineries and tasted 282 wines. It is a complex region with many nuances that demands time to understand, and it is only now, after these three years visiting for Tim plus 15 years of casual visits, that I am just starting to understand the many layers and complexities of its vineyards.
It is a region that has fundamentally changed. In the 1990s, the region made vastly greater quantities and in 1996, for example, 255,202 hectolitres were produced. If we look at the situation today, the difference is stark, with just 73,632 hectolitres produced in 2025.
Bierzo is now focused firmly on quality, and since the foundation of the DO in 1989 – in fact, just since the implementation of the vineyard-based classification system in 2017 – it has undergone impressive changes. It really is one of the great fine wine regions of the world.
Beth Willard
