Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The spicy and peppery 2019 Brezo Mencía could make you see why some people compare Mencía with Cabernet Franc (they are completely unrelated), with that herbal twist that gives this wine an Atlantic freshness and a somewhat wild profile. This clearly transcends its price category; it's a sophisticated, unoaked old-vine Mencía from old vineyards where is always a small percentage of other grapes, such as Alicante Bouschet, Doña Blanca... It's sleek, elegant and polished, fresh and easy to drink, nicely crafted. Truly impressive.
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.