Winemaker Notes
A blend of mostly Mencia with Bastardo, Garnacha Tintorera, Godello and Dona Blanca.
Harvested at the end of August / beginning of September. Whole-cluster fermentation with native yeasts in large, open-top chestnut vat. 60-90 day maceration followed by one year of aging in neutral barrel. Bottled without fining or filtration.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Las Villegas, a parcel in Valtuille de Abajo, was planted at the end of the 19th century. It’s mainly mencía, but, according to Raúl Pérez, who makes this wine, it also includes bastardo and garnacha tintorera as well as white grapes such as godello and doña blanca. He coferments them all to produce Ultreia. The tannins are sharp and wild, their grip yielding to black fruit and herbs that leave a pleasant memory. Delicious with roast rack of lamb.
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.