Winemaker Notes
#99 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2022
The concept of this wine is to apply both Graillot and Pérez techniques to the terroir of Bierzo. Antoine’s contribution was fermentation in cement vat, a practice that fell out of favor in Bierzo a generation ago but is still used by the Graillot family in Crozes-Hermitage.
The vat he purchased for this project actually wouldn’t fit through the door of Raúl’s winery, so they had to remove a section of the roof in order to lower it in by crane. In addition to providing local knowledge and access for the grape purchases, Raúl also encouraged Antoine to leave the wine on the skins for an extended period of time after the whole cluster fermentation was complete.
The grapes come from three different sites in the northwest quadrant of Bierzo, one of which is the Rapolao vineyard in Valtuille de Abajo, a site that is rapidly gaining recognition as one of the finest in the appellation. The brand name “Encinas” refers to the Quercus Ilex, more commonly known as Holm Oaks.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The profile of the 2019 Encinas follows the reductive profile of their previous wines, a style that is very different from the rest of the producers from Bierzo, somehow more Rhône-ish. They did shorter macerations in 2019 and 2020 to avoid extracting too much, but it created some troublesome malolactic fermentation. The wine has abundant, dusty tannins and some rusticity. It's 14.1% alcohol.
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Wine Spectator
Appealing violet, tarry smoke and spice box notes play on the nose of this expressive red, with flavors of black plum reduction, red licorice, cured tobacco and singed orange peel on the palate. The fresh, lasting finish features fine-grained tannins, which are creamy with light grip. Drink now.
Primarily found in the Bierzo, Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras regions of Spain and in the Dão of Portugal (where it is called Jaen), Mencia is an early ripening, low acid grape that can produce wines of great concentration, complexity and ageability. And yet Mencia once suffered from a poor reputation and deemed capable of producing simple and light red wines. Post-phylloxera growers would grow this variety on low, fertile plains, which produced high yields and uncomplicated finished wines. Somm Secret—The recent rediscovery of the ancient, abandoned vines planted on rugged hillsides of deep schist has unveiled the potential of Mencia and added discredit to its old reputation.
One of the few northwestern Spanish regions with a focus on a red variety, Bierzo, part of Castilla y León, is home to the flowery and fruity Mencia grape. Mencia produces balanced and bright red wines full of strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate, baking spice, pepper and black licorice. The well-drained soils of Bierzo are slate and granite.