Luna Beberide 2024:
A Spanish bargain and a 99-point showstopper
A region that today, should be considered
among the great fine wine regions of the world.
Beth Willard, timatkin.com, 2026
2024 Finca Luna Beberide, Bodegas Luna Beberide
£85 per 6 bottle case in bond
2024 Paixar, Viña de Vaca, Bodegas Luna Beberide
£265 per 6 bottle case in bond
I seem to get more excited about Bodegas Luna Beberide with every vintage. The 2021 Paixar was one of those rare discoveries where the quality appeared miles ahead of both the reputation and, frankly, the price. The 2022 emphatically proved it was no one-off, and then the remarkable 2023s moved things on again. Well, Alejandro has done it again. The 2024s are sensational.
What immediately struck me was their extraordinary purity. The fruit seems almost freshly crushed, so clearly delineated that you feel you can pick out each register as the wines unfold. Nothing is blurred or muddled; the flavours have remarkable definition and precision. There is plenty of substance, but it is the clarity of expression that really catches your attention. These are wines that somehow manage to be serious and compelling while remaining immensely pleasurable to drink. Perhaps that brilliance shouldn't come as a surprise given the unusual nature of the 2024 vintage in Bierzo.
It was far from straightforward, but the results stand out. An exceptionally wet growing season culminated in two damaging hailstorms in June, followed by further rain and increased mildew pressure. The result was a dramatically smaller crop, with controlled production across Bierzo down 33.26% on 2023. What followed, however, was far more encouraging. Good reserves of water in the soil meant the vines avoided hydric stress as temperatures rose, allowing the surviving crop to ripen normally. The Consejo Regulador de la DO Bierzo ultimately described the condition of the harvested fruit as ‘exceptional’, highlighting the pronounced fruit, freshness, balance, and varietal definition of the resulting wines. Reading that after tasting Alejandro's 2024s made me smile: it could almost have been written about these wines specifically. The quality of the vintage was subsequently recognised when 2024 was awarded Bierzo's highest classification, ‘Excelente’, following a tasting of 17 representative wines by a 20-person panel.
For Luna Beberide, it appears to have been a vintage particularly well suited to the style that Alejandro Luna Beberide has been steadily refining.
Bodegas Luna Beberide was founded in 1988 and is today in the hands of the second generation, Alejandro Luna Beberide. The vineyards that most interest us are the high-altitude sites of Finca Valdetruchas in Villafranca del Bierzo and Dragonte in Corullón. Here, vines climb to between 700 and 1,000 metres, planted on steep slopes of decomposed slate and shale. I realise I must bore everyone about altitude, given how frequently it crops up in my offers, but here I go again, because it really does matter. Some of the most exciting Spanish wines I have tasted in recent years have come from growers exploiting altitude to retain freshness and definition, while simultaneously stepping back from obvious oak and heavy extraction.
Old-vine Mencía grown high on Bierzo's poor, stony slopes can be remarkably expressive, and Luna Beberide is a hugely persuasive example. Alejandro's approach is increasingly one of restraint: minimal intervention and an élevage intended to allow the fruit and vineyard to speak rather than shout over them. Previous Atlas releases have highlighted his use of larger-format oak and the absence of new oak in Paixar, and the resultant purity has increasingly become a defining characteristic of the estate.
This year we are offering two 2024s: the absolute bargain that is Finca Luna Beberide and the frankly extraordinary Paixar Viña de Vaca.
My enthusiasm for Alejandro's wines is hardly a secret by now. What is gratifying is to see wider critical recognition gathering pace too. I am just rather pleased that we got there first. Beth Willard, writing for Tim Atkin MW, awards the Finca Luna Beberide 93 points and the Paixar Viña de Vaca an extraordinary 99 points, which came second in the top 100 wines from Bierzo. She hasn’t published a note for the Finca as it fell outside of the top 100, but it received a very good score relative to its bargain price.
2024 Finca Luna Beberide, Bodegas Luna Beberide
£85 per 6 bottle case in bond (this price is not a typo!)
93 points, Beth Willard, timatkin.com
No tasting note.
My note:
Freshly mashed berry fruit comes to mind immediately, with blueberry, blackberry and loganberry combining in a wonderfully juicy, almost compote-like manner. The palate is medium-bodied, layered and lip-smacking, with beautifully cushioned fruit and a gentle slatey nuance adding definition. There is no oak to get in the way of the terrific purity here, just an abundance of succulent fruit and a flowing, more-ish quality. This punches well above its status and would be particularly appealing served lightly cool. Drink now to 2030. (SL)
2024 Paixar Viña de Vaca, Bodegas Luna Beberide
£265 per 6 bottle case in bond
99 points, Beth Willard, timatkin.com
Wow... immediately inviting, heady aromas of pure mountain herbs recall this wine’s Dragonte origins, perched at a cooler, north facing site above Villafranca del Bierzo. Aromas of thyme, rosemary and resinous, dried eucalyptus leaves are supported by a green vibrancy from fermentation with 50% stems. The palate has a slatey, hot stone core that drives the wine and wonderfully integrates Castillian intensity with Atlantic freshness. Offering youthful power now, it will mellow with time. 2027-2038
My note:
This takes the wonderfully pure character of the Finca and turns everything up a notch. Scented blackberry and loganberry lead the way, joined by notes of spiced raspberry, but there is considerably more complexity here, with hints of Mediterranean herbs and that characteristic slatey nuance lending definition. The purity is astonishing, the fruit beautifully layered, with silken tannins carrying the wine towards a long, flowing finish. This is glorious. It could certainly be broached relatively early, such is the harmony already apparent, but there is clearly plenty held in reserve. Drink to 2040. (SL)
Availability: These wines will be shipped in mid-November.
We think we are onto something rather special with Alejandro Luna Beberide. Judging by the response from clients now drinking the 2021 Paixar that we first offered, many of you agree. The 2024s only add to our conviction: a remarkably good Finca at £85 per six and an exceptional, 99-point Viña de Vaca. Two very different price points, but the same compelling quality.
Please let us know of your interest.
Simon
simon.larkin@atlasfinewines.com