Olga Verde Viñadora - Bierzo

Olga Verde Viñadora is the small, personal project of Olga Verde started in 2020. Her project is based in Otero, very close to the famous Villa de Corullón, in the Bierzo region. Olga began her career in 2007, combining harvests in the northern and southern hemispheres (Madrid, Chile, New Zealand) and also worked as a sommelier to expand her knowledge of world wines. She organically cultivates less than 1 hectare of very old vineyards on the north faces of Otero and Corullón. Olga’s approach is minimalist and seeks to express the essence of mountain vineyards maintained for decades by hundreds of anonymous vine growers.

Olga Verde Toxo Villa de Otero 2023

95% Mencía/5% Palomino Fino y Doña Blanca from 7 small plots of 100+ year-old vines registered in 1910.

Winemaking:  Hand harvested.  Spontaneous fermentation with 30% whole cluster and 70% destemmed grapes.  Aged for 11 months in neutral French oak. Low total SO2 (46 mg/L).

Production:  1,347 bottles (168 bottles imported)

Olga Verde Toxo Villa de San Clemente 2023

92% Mencía/8% Merenzao (Trousseau) from San Clemente, a hamlet located in Cacabelos, where friends Carmen and Manolo take care of this vineyard of more than 80 years old.

Winemaking:  Hand harvested.  Spontaneous fermentation with 30% whole cluster and 70% destemmed grapes.  Aged for 8 months in neutral French oak. Low total SO2 (58 mg/L).

Production:  1,060 bottles (168 bottles imported)

Olga Verde Fontecalada 2023

100% Mencía from the century-old vineyard plot of 0.10 hectares in the paraje of Fontecalada “a fountain in calcareous soil” located in Corullón.

Winemaking:  Hand harvested.  Spontaneous fermentation with 100% whole cluster.  Aged for 11 months in neutral French oak and glass demijohns. Low total SO2 (42 mg/L).

Production:  342 bottles (84 bottles imported)

RP93+ - Olga Verde Viñadora Toxo Villa de Otero 2023

Reviewed by: Luis Gutiérrez

Issue Date: October 8, 2026

The perfumed and aromatic red 2023 Toxo Villa de Otero shows the north-facing, fresher and fruitier side of the village. It is mostly Mencía with some 6% Doña Blanca, and it fermented in plastic bins with 30% full clusters, then matured in used 225-liter barrels for 10 months. It has contained ripeness and alcohol (12.5%), with a pH of 3.46 and 5.04 grams of acidity, coming through as balanced, juicy, clean, expressive and easy to drink but not banal, with depth and complexity. 1,347 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2025.  Drink 2026 - 2031

RP94+ - Olga Verde Viñadora Toxo Villa de San Clemente 2023

Reviewed by: Luis Gutiérrez

Issue Date: October 8, 2026

The Touriga Nacional-like 2023 Toxo Villa de San Clemente has an intense nose of violets that remind me of the Portuguese grape, complemented by aromatic herbs that give it a very showy profile. This comes from a vineyard with 94% Mencía and 6% Merenzao that was regrafted on the white varieties. It finished at 12.5% alcohol and retained a pH of 3.73 and 4.3 grams of acidity, not particularly good parameters, yet it comes through as fresh and balanced but reflecting the warm year. 1,059 bottles were filled in April 2024 after aging in 225-liter barrels.  Drink 2026 - 2033

RP93+ - Olga Verde Viñadora Fonte Calada 2023

Reviewed by: Luis Gutiérrez

Issue Date: October 8, 2026

The serious red 2023 Fonte Calada is only Mencía, not a field blend, despite being from a vineyard registered as 1910. It's from a very isolated vineyard surrounded by trees, with slightly whiter soil. It fermented with 100% full clusters because the very small plot delivers very small bunches and berries, and it produces a more direct and chalky wine that is more powerful. It's officially from Corullón, but it's really Otero. It comes in at 14% alcohol, with a pH of 3.78 and 4.9 grams of acidity, finishing dry and still slightly tannic. It needs more time in bottle. They only produced one 225-liter barrel and three glass demijohns that filled 342 bottles in April 2025.  Drink 2027 - 2034

by Beth Willard 94:  Olga Verde Toxo, Otero 2023

From Olga’s north facing vineyards in Otero, this is a traditional blend with a lot of white varieties and is fermented with around 30% whole bunch and aged for ten months in barrel. It offers the blackberry and strawberry intensity of the Otero vines but with really balanced acidity and a fresh, steely core. It is a fluid wine with structure similar to Valtuille but fruit profile closer to Corullon. Seriously delicious!  Drink 2026 - 2031

by Beth Willard 95:  Olga Verde Fonte Calada 2023

This has a very Corullón profile (it comes from Otero but belongs to the municipal of Corullón), and as the name suggests, the vines are grown on limestone, slate and quartz.  It is one of the first parcels that Olga harvests and it offers lilac, rose and violets that mingle with redcurrant and raspberry but the key here is the wonderful slatey, stoney drive that brings graphite and dark chocolate notes. It is a profound, driven wine with beautiful harmony and stoney grip on the finish. Potential to develop over time.  Drink 2026 - 2033