Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A sweet raspberry nose that is so fresh and pure. Electric tension between the fruit, tannins and acidity, and a great texture too. A stunning wine that redefines what Spanish red wine can be. Drink now.
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Wine Enthusiast
Ripe, fleshy, minerally blackberry and black-cherry aromas are pure, deep and suggest high quality that's confirmed later on. In the mouth, this Mencía from an excellent vintage is racy and pumped up, with acidic energy and tannic grab. Roasted black-fruit flavors come with notes of spice cake and salt. A long, full finish confirms how good this is; drink 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.