Mengoba Bierzo Brezo Mencia Tinto 2021

Description

“a name to watch!” ...says Jesús Barquín one of the most influential wine critics in Spain who co-authored the wine bible  “The Finest Wines of Rioja and North West Spain”.

Mengoba’s wild, rural vineyards are at nose-bleed altitudes of up to 2500 ft above sea level. This is stunning country; a landscape of wild, natural beauty – a quality that is mirrored in the Mengoba wines. The patches of old, goblet vines here are strewn across small, isolated pockets, nestled amongst the densely forested high country.

Bierzo is a region that totally missed the industrialisation that so much of Europe went through post WW2. It was too difficult to mechanise and there was simply no interest in the area until a clutch of winemakers realised the remarkable potential of the high altitudes, old vines and quartz and slate rich soils. French winemaker Gregory Pérez was one of those drawn to the area by the sheer potential of the remarkable terroir as well as the two principal, indigenous grape varieties of Bierzo: Godello (white grape) and Mencia (red grape).

Mengoba has fast established itself as one of the region’s benchmarks. The vineyard work is absolutely artisanal; the vines are grown according to organic principles and Perez’s highest plot remains one of the Spain’s few quality producing vineyards still ploughed by cow!

Pérez’s entry-level Mencía comes from multiple remote parcels of 30 to 60 year-old vines dotted around the slate-rich hillsides of Valtuille and Villafranca del Bierzo. The blend also takes in a splash of Garnacha Tintorera (Alicante Bouschet) and Godello, a legacy of the traditional make-up of Bierzo’s vineyards. In the pursuit of something pure, refreshing, and juicy, Pérez destemmed 90% of his fruit and the wine was fermented wild in stainless-steel tanks. Bottled early to capture all that joyous, mouth-watering Mencía character, if you fancy a detour from Cru Beaujolais or Loire Cabernet Franc, this is an excellent port of call.

Perez’s 2021 release has got everything you look for in a wine from the easy drinking leagues: authenticity, refreshment and fun, with a large side order of place. Putting the value to one side, the great achievement here is that the striking fleshiness of fruit is finely offset by the bright, fresh structure—a balance reflective of the altitude and the diurnal contrast (warm days followed by cold nights). Filled to the brim with sleek and vibrant fruit, it’s a deliciously animated Mencia, full of lacy verve with some gravelly tannins also lending length and gravitas. A real charmer.

On a previous vintage, Luis Gutiérrez from The Wine Advocate had this to say about this wine “The spicy and peppery .. Brezo Mencía could make you see why some people compare Mencía with Cabernet Franc (they are completely unrelated), with that herbal twist that gives this wine an Atlantic freshness and a somewhat wild profile. This clearly transcends its price category; it’s a sophisticated, unoaked old-vine Mencía from old vineyards where is always a small percentage of other grapes, such as Alicante Bouschet, Doña Blanca… It’s sleek, elegant and polished, fresh and easy to drink, nicely crafted. Truly impressive.”
RRP $33  Our Special Price $27.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine.