Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Ricardo Pérez Palacios told me his favorite overall vintages for Bierzo are 2001, 2012 and possibly 2015, because he sees them as very complete years, even if 2015 didn't have as perfect conditions as 2001 and 2012; the 2015 Corullón is a perfect example of that, a really pretty wine, open, where I see the similarities with 2012. They use many of the vineyards year after year, all of them around the village of Corullón, all planted with a field blend of varieties, and they have been increasing the percentage of white grapes from those vines that they include in the cuvée. In 2015, it can be almost 9%, mostly Palomino, and they feel it polishes that slight bitterness in the finish of the Mencía, reminiscent of green almonds. Of course, there are also other red grapes, like Alicante Bouschet, Gran Negro, Pan y Carne and Negreda, that might contribute to some 2% of the volume.
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James Suckling
Love the focus and balance to this wine. Clove, nutmeg and mineral character with blue fruits, too. Medium to full body and ultra-fine grained tannins. Lovely length. Drink now.Biodynamically-grown grapes.
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.