Winemaker Notes
La Vizcaina El Rapolao shows red fruit aromas on the nose. It is very spicy, mineral and expressive. Its width in the mouth, with a slight warmth and firm tannins, make it a serious and strong wine, showing a pleasant taste of seasoned fruit.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Raúl Pérez has purchased the plot of El Rapolao that he uses for La Vizcaína, close to 1.3 hectares, and they expect the wine to have a big change as they are taking over the viticulture and want to lower yields. The 2019 La Vizcaína El Rapolao has plenty of tannin and is more concentrated than the 2020. 5,000 bottles produced.
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Vinous
Deep garnet. Deep-pitched cherry and cassis aromas are complemented by suggestions of smoky minerals, baking spices and lavender, along with a licorice note that builds with air. Youthfully chewy and alluringly sweet, offering concentrated, spice-laced black raspberry, bitter cherry, boysenberry and succulent herb flavors sharpened by a jolt of juicy acidity. Finishes sweet, smoky and extremely long, showing solid grip and mounting tannins that add framework to the intense dark fruit.
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.