Two Bierzo wines to discover mencia

With a modest reputation twenty years ago, today mencia has “wine” in its sails!

This variety is found especially in Spain, in the province of Leon, more precisely in the Bierzo appellation where it accounts for nearly 75% of production. Despite the continental heat, the region benefits, like its neighbor, Galicia located to the north, from the freshness and humidity of the Atlantic. If you add elevations between 450 and 1000 meters, steep slopes and, above all, the know-how of caring winemakers, you can make impressive wines. They are usually powerful reds both on the nose and on the palate, but the best can be quite elegant and surprisingly drinkable. They are also wines that can improve over many years. Here are two very good ones to discover.

Drink less. Drink better.

Mengoba, Brezo 2018, Bierzo, Spain

$ 17.80 – Code SAQ 14426897 – 13% – 1.5 g / L

Without doubt the best way to learn about mencia. A cuvée produced by Grégory Pérez, one of the best producers of the Bierzo appellation. The SAQ indicates 100% mencia, but according to the producer’s website, there is a little Alicante Bouschet (another grape variety to discover!). In both cases, we are talking about old vines over fifty years old cultivated at an altitude of over 500 m. We can guess an ample and fruity wine with notes of blueberry, lavender and smoke. Very digestible, it is preferable to serve it slightly chilled (around 15-16 ° C) after a passage in a carafe.

★★★ – $$

César Márquez Pérez, Parajes 2018, Bierzo, Spain

$ 28.80 – Code SAQ 14536797 – 13% – 1.4 g / L

César is the nephew of Raul Pérez, a leading figure in the renewal of the appellation. After working for a long time with his uncle, Caesar launched his own business. This Parajes cuvée comes from 9 different plots located around the village of Bierzo. Without being more complex than the previous one, we feel the wine more worked with more marked traces of wood, a more fleshy fruitiness and more granular tannins. The whole remains fresh and digestible. It should gain in definition with 2 or 3 years in the cellar.

★★★ 1⁄2 – $$$

Legend

★ Correct

★★ Good

★★★ Very good

★★★★ Excellent

★★★★★ Exceptional

• More stars than dollars: well worth the price.
• As many stars as dollars: worth the price.
• Fewer stars than dollars: wine is expensive.