Bodega César Márquez

Ambitious Bierzo winemaker César Márquez inherited his passion for wine from his uncle Raúl Pérez, one of the most influential producers in northern Spain. He owes his skills not just to what he learned at viticulture school, but to practical experience and the realisation that quality wine is only possible if you work the land by hand.

César’s journey into wine began at the Requena School of Viticulture and Oenology in 2007, where he developed a solid technical grounding. But it was only by gaining hands-on experience under the tutorship of his uncle Raúl Pérez that he was able to put his knowledge into practice and learn to appreciate all the fine details that go into producing wine, from vineyard to bottle.

Argentina kick-started his career

He relocated to Argentina in 2015 to work with the talented Michelini brothers. This experience widened his horizons and provided him with the encouragement he needed to launch his own project. Taking Burgundy as his inspiration, César wanted to make wines that would reflect the character of each individual parcel, relying on carefully selected fruit from a variety of locations with differing soils, altitudes and exposures. His low-intervention approach in both vineyard and cellar has enabled him to capture the natural complexities of this terroir in his wines. 

Wines from native varieties

La Salvacíon, a Godello from centenarian vines, was César’s inaugural white wine. Parajes, an entry-level red blend from seven different villages, epitomises the inherent finesse of the unique Bierzo region. Village wine Valtuille and single-vineyard bottlings El Rapolao, Pico Ferreira and Sufreiral also provide fascinating snapshots of this diverse and distinctive appellation. César’s wines exude freshness. In particular, Mencía from Bierzo is a variety that can come close to matching the complexity and finesse of red Burgundy.

Since 2017, César has been working as Raúl Pérez’s technical director at the family winery Castro Ventosa, while pursuing this exciting project on the side. He is a busy man! We will certainly be hearing much more from him in future.