Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Growing at 1,870 feet in Valtuille de Abajo, La Vitoriana is one of the oldest vineyards in Bierzo. Raúl Pérez has records of its planting in 1890. As a young wine, this accents its funky notes, with some feral scents, earthiness and raw meat underscoring the black fruit flavors. The structure is tight and firm, creating a compact block of flavor that’s just waiting for grilled lamb. This wine will take years to fully grow into its complexity. Cellar it for five years, or go for that lamb.
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.