César Márquez

From Castro Ventosa to his own name

César Márquez grew up in Valtuille de Abajo, a village in the Bierzo region, surrounded by vineyards owned by the Castro Ventosa family. After studying winemaking at Requena, he worked for seven years alongside his uncle Raúl Pérez, one of the people who put modern Bierzo on the world map. During this time, he not only helped manage Castro Ventosa but also played a key role in creating the La Vizcaína brand. In 2015, he began bottling wine under his own name. Two years later, he also took over management of the family winery, and currently runs two projects in parallel: the historic Castro Ventosa winery and his own small brand, César Márquez. For his project, he restored an early 19th-century building in Valtuille and set up shop in a space that was once used as a wine cellar. This modest space reflects his modest production volume, and that is precisely his intention. The wines are not produced by blending grapes from across the region, but rather from small batches harvested from specific plots.

Old vines around Valtuille

The vineyards are located in the western part of the autonomous community of Castile and León, in Valtuille de Abajo and its surroundings, at the junction of the Bierzo and Galicia regions. This region is characterized not so much by vast, contiguous vineyards as by a landscape dominated by small plots, old vines trained in the bush style, and steep slopes. Márquez manages plots that he has partly inherited and partly leased, and which, for the most part, form a patchwork of vineyards planted several decades ago. This project is built around new categories introduced by the Bierzo Designation of Origin (DO): Vino de Villa (village-named wine) and Vino de Paraje (wine named after specific plots). This concept aligns perfectly with his approach to winemaking. Rather than producing wine from a single estate, he bottles individual plots if each one demonstrates its own unique character. El Rapolao and Sufreiral are two such plots, each with its own soil composition and light exposure.

The Bierzo terroir

Bierzo is a valley located between the Cantabrian Mountains and the hills of Galicia. The Atlantic climate extends into the region from the west, while the continental climate influences it from the east; thanks to its elevation above sea level, nights here remain cool. As a result, the region produces red wines that are fresh and light compared to those from most of Spain’s inland wine regions, as well as white wines with a pronounced intensity. Soils vary depending on the plot. In the hilly terrain, slate and slate-based rocks predominate, which allows for the production of lighter, more mineral-driven wines. At the same time, heavier clay and alluvial soils mix at the bottom of the valley, allowing for the creation of wines with a rounder flavor. The parajes (plots) from which Márquez produces its wines are carefully selected precisely because their soil and sun exposure leave their mark on the wine’s flavor.

Mencía and Godello, mostly

There are two grape varieties that are the hallmark of the Bierzo region, and both are featured here:

For red wines, Mencía. This is the region’s iconic variety, distinguished by its aromatic bouquet and medium body. It is used to produce a wide range of wines, from casual de villa wines to authentic Paraje wines.

For white wines, Godello. Thanks to this grape variety, with its deep flavor and rich minerality, northwestern Spain has quietly earned a reputation as a region producing high-quality white wines. In the region’s older vineyards, field blends are common, in which white grape varieties such as Doña Blanca and Palomino are planted in small quantities alongside Mencía. This is more a part of the traditional landscape of El Bierzo than a modern choice.

In the cellar

Winemaking deliberately emphasizes non-intervention. The wine is produced separately for each small batch, using mainly natural yeasts for fermentation and employing gentle extraction methods. The goal is to bring out the aroma and freshness of the Mencía variety without excessive processing. Aging takes place primarily not in new barrels (small French oak barrels), but in used oak barrels and large-capacity barrels, which keeps the oak notes subtle. White wines made from the Godello grape variety are aged on their lees for a period long enough to develop texture, without compromising the brightness of the mineral notes. None of the wines are designed to make a big impression; rather, they are crafted to highlight the individual character of each specific wine.

The range

For the red wines at a regional level the Parajes is offered, the entry point of the range, first made in 2016. Blends fruit from multiple villages across Bierzo that doesn't make the cut for the other wines. Around 20,000 bottles made yearly, the largest production in the range.

At the village level, the Valtuille de Abajo is offered, labelled as Las Firmas until the 2019 vintage, then renamed to reflect the new Vino de Villa category approved by the Bierzo DO. Grapes come from several sandy-soil sites within Valtuille de Abajo, including Villegas, El Llano, La Vega and parts of El Rapolao. Production is around 3,000 bottles.

At a single-vineyard / Paraje level (production around 1,200 bottles each):

• El Rapolao, the most renowned vineyard, from a north-facing plot within Valtuille de Abajo on clay and sand soils. The coolest of the single-vineyard wines and widely regarded as the top red in the lineup.
• El Llano, also within Valtuille but at higher elevation.
• Pico Ferreira, from the Zagalón site in Corullón, on steep northeast-facing slopes at around 710 metres. Known for its freshness and fine tannins.
• Sufreiral , from the village of Toral de los Vados on limestone soils at around 620 metres.

For the white wines, the El Val is produced and it is the only white in the range, made from vines over 125 years old co-planted within primarily red-grape vineyards.