Winemaker Notes
Pair with: Grilled meats (pork sausages, lamb chops), patatas bravas, young sheep cheeses.
Professional Ratings
-
Decanter
A generous and aromatic blend of Doña Blanca and Godello. The palate is fresh and long, spicy with white pepper notes and supple with a lovely texture. Altogether fascinating. García farms his family vineyards in the highly rated sites of Valtuille and Corullón. Drinking Window 2018 - 2021
-
Wine Spectator
Smoky notes frame cherry, leafy and mineral flavors in this savory red, which has a round, polished texture, with light tannins and balsamic acidity. Harmonious and graceful. Drink now through 2022.
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.