Godelia Mencia 2012
Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesPotent earthy cherry and animal aromas are neither too pushy nor overbearing. This is quite full and concentrated, with a ripe-fruit mix of black plum, blackberry and chocolate flavors. Chocolaty oak is even more out front on a deep finish.
Dark ruby color; lush, rich, and fresh with some puckery tannins; juicy with bright plum and blackberry; creamy with good balance.
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.
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.