Joy and I have enjoyed our membership in the Summerville Accent on Wine’s newly formed wine club. Vinny, the wine club’s manager, has introduced us to some new winemakers and their wines, and he has reacquainted us with some of our favorite ‘hits from the past’.

Raúl Pérez became a ‘know name’ when I was associated with Sterling Cellars in Mahopac, New York.  Steve Morrison, the owner of Sterling Cellars, met Raúl Pérez while on a distributor trip to Spain, and returned excited about both the man and his wines. His excitement was certainly justified.

Considered a visionary winemaker, Perez’s first vintage for his family’s winery was introduced to the world in 1994 at the age of 22. In 2005 he struck out on his own introducing the world to Bodegas y Vinedos Raúl Pérez. He hit the ground running. In less than 15 years Pérez moved into the ranks of the world’s great winemakers. Decanter Magazine wrote simply that he “the archetype of the intuitive winemaking genius”.

An example…Pérez aged an Albarino (which he named Sketch) in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. He claims that the water serves as a vacuum preserving the best qualities of the wine while the gentle movement of the currents improve the flavor characteristics. The wine is excellent. It is probably excellent without the ocean aging. However, we perceive that the ocean aging has significantly improved the wine, and thus it is able to be marketed for $80 in the U.S. The Decanter description of Pérez is clearly justified.

Gimmicks aside, Pérez makes excellent wine, and Accent on Wine included his 2016 Ultreia St-Jacques in a recent allocation. Vinified from Mencia grapes (from the Northwest of Spain), this 90-point wine offers, as the Wine Spectator suggests, “ripe flavors of black cherry and red plum supported by vanilla and licorice in a plush texture”. I didn’t find the licorice, but the remaining description was on point.

There is widespread availability of this wine in the U.S. You should be able to track it down for around $20. Steve Morrison, of Sterling Cellars in Mahopac, New York, still has a place on the shelve for Raúl Pérez wines. You can find the Ultreia St-Jacques at Sterling Cellars for $22.00.

Try it with you next pork or white meat meal…you will not be disappointed.