100 pts Guia Penin 2027
"For years, talking about César Márquez inevitably meant mentioning Raúl Pérez , his uncle. It was a logical, and we imagine overwhelming, association, but today it's no longer enough. This recognition of Pico Ferreira 2024 is a major turning point for its creator and a living demonstration of his creative genius .
Anyone who has followed the evolution of this project since its inception in 2015 knew that sooner or later, it would make a splash. The first sign came with this Pico Ferreira, but that was the 2020 vintage (97 points - Peñín Guide 2023). Just one year later, their white wine, El Val 2021, reached 99 points (Guide 2024), a score it repeated with the 2023 vintage (Guide 2026). In this new edition of the Guide, Pico Ferreira grabbed us by the shoulders, lifted us off our feet, and shook us with energy. It's a wine with the Bierzo DNA ingrained in its very essence , with a controlled darkness , gently reductive notes , and a background of very lively, expressive, and electrifying fresh fruit .
The first impression is restrained, even reserved. For a few minutes, it seems to measure each step. Then the rhythm changes. The fruit gains prominence, new nuances emerge, while the tension sustains the whole until the end. It's not a wine that needs time to improve, but rather time to be interpreted, as its sensory profile unfolds gradually . Perhaps this is one of its greatest virtues.
Pico Ferreira also tells us about the person who made it . Not because the vineyard disappears, something that would be impossible given the stylistic force that Bierzo already imparts, but because the interpretation of its creator ends up being just as recognizable.
That mixture of initial restraint and growing expressiveness that describes the wine also portrays the person who for years advanced almost silently, and who is now impossible to overlook .
This wine comes from a single 0.6-hectare plot that lives up to its name. A vineyard located at an altitude of 710 meters and planted on slate soils.
There's another reason to take note of Pico Ferreira 2024. Along with Equipo Navazos' Bota de Manzanilla Pasada Nº130, it's the lowest-priced wine among all those that have achieved 100 points this year (€60). This is a rare occurrence in a category accustomed to bringing together some of the most sought-after labels on the market.
Just a year ago, El Val hinted that César Márquez was poised to enter the pantheon of Spanish wine greats . Pico Ferreira 2024 no longer hints at it, it confirms it. "
Written by Javier Luengo, editorial director of Peñín
