Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A Bierzo red with crushed raspberries, dried herbs such as rosemary and hints of pepper. Shows tension and complexity, firm tannins and a clean finish. Juicy, too. Powerful and provocative wine.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Cropped from a cooler vintage and, therefore, with a cooler profile, the village red (vino de villa in the new classification from the 2017 vintage), the 2014 Corullon, felt like a more complete version of 2013, clearly a more Atlantic (cooler) year, with notes of violets, lilies and pomegranate, really expressive, open and aromatic, more focused, precise, clean and with a palate that follows that same line, plus the verticality and minerality added by the slate soils. Hands down, one of the best (if not the best) vintages of Corullon. Bravo! 12,700 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2016.
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Wine Spectator
Smoky and woodsy notes frame tart cherry and licorice flavors in this focused red. The supple texture is supported by light tannins and firm acidity. Harmonious and expressive. Drink now through 2021. 1,500 cases made.
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.