Bodegas Mengoba, Bierzo
Bierzo ligger i den nordvestlige del af Spanien. Interessen for Bierzo er stigende, og som vinregion ser det lovende ud - der er lokale druesorter af høj kvalitet og de bedste vinmarker er veldrænede med skifer og granit i jordbunden; helt perfekt for at lave mineralske vine med karakter. Rødvinene i området bliver primært lavet på lokaldruen Mencia, der giver afbalancerede og frugtige vine....
It wasn't easy to improve on the already impressive 2016, but the 2018 Mencía de Espanillo has done it! As before, it comes from old vineyards in the high-altitude village of Espanillo where the soils are decomposed slate. It fermented in a 5,000-liter oak vat with indigenous yeasts and matured in a 3,000-liter oak foudre for 16 months. The nose is subtly floral, as elegant as the best vintage so far, expressive, nuanced and open, with blood orange notes of freshness and a showy, spicy twist. The palate is very balanced and serious, textured with fine-grained tannins and has an austere, stony-like feeling, clean flavors and a remarkably long finish. - Luis Gutierrez
Lavet på mencía og espanillo fra højtbeliggende marker. Flot ren og let gæret i duften. Meget ung og frugtig. Virker nærmest naturvinsagtigt. Masser af røde, let bitre bær, urter, krydderier og violer i smagen. Flot koncentration og længde.
The 2016 Mencía de Espanillo has to be among the finest vintages for this high-altitude Mencía. It comes from slate soils in old vineyards in the village of Espanillo, and as Mengoba also has a small percentage of other varieties, everything is picked and fermented together with part full clusters and part destemmed and crushed in a 5,000-liter oak vat with indigenous yeasts. It was then transferred to a 2,500-liter oak foudre where it underwent malolactic and an élevage of some 15 months, slightly longer this time, as the grapes from 2017 were lost to frost (and therefore there won't be a 2017 of this wine). The nose is dead gorgeous, expressive and open, and the palate is serious and with a mineral feeling, nicely textured, with clean flavors and a remarkable finish. - Luis Gutiérrez
The 2014 Mencía de Espanillo is in reality a blend with some 15% Garnacha Tintorera (and a pinch of white Godello), sourced from vineyards planted on slate soils in the village of Espanillo. The wine fermented with part of full clusters in a 5,000-liter oak vat and transferred to a 2,500-liter foudre for malolactic fermentation and 12 month élevage. This could very well be the finest vintage of this bottling, it feels really complete, elegant, subtle and complex, extremely floral. The palate shows a rare combination of power and elegance, intense but somehow light, it caresses your palate with its velvety tannins and refined acidity. Super!
The 2014 Mencía de Espanillo is in reality a blend with some 15% Garnacha Tintorera (and a pinch of white Godello), sourced from vineyards planted on slate soils in the village of Espanillo. The wine fermented with part of full clusters in a 5,000-liter oak vat and transferred to a 2,500-liter foudre for malolactic fermentation and 12 month élevage. This could very well be the finest vintage of this bottling, it feels really complete, elegant, subtle and complex, extremely floral. The palate shows a rare combination of power and elegance, intense but somehow light, it caresses your palate with its velvety tannins and refined acidity. Super!
Kølig og ganske elegant, tør med den underliggende sødme. Civiliseret, europæisk vin. Ung, kan ligge et par år og blive bedre. Jeg ville ikke normalt servere Bierzo-vin for gæster, jeg brød mig om, denne er en undtagelse. Mencia er druesorten, og man mener, den kan være identisk med cabernet franc. Det er ikke umuligt. - Niels Lillelund
The Mengoba Tinto bottling from Monsieur Pérez is made up of a slightly different blend than the Brezo bottlings, as this wine is eighty percent Mencía, fifteen percent Garnacha and five percent a field blend that includes both Alicante and Godello. The 2013 was still resting comfortably in five thousand liter foudre at the time of my visit, with bottling to be done in the spring. The bouquet is outstanding, wafting from the glass in a classy constellation of dark berries, coffee grounds, gamebirds, slate, pepper and a nice topnote of chicory. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and rock solid at the core, with fine focus and grip, blossoming complexity, fine-grained tannins and excellent balance on the long and quite refined finish. This is going to be a dynamite bottle of wine in the fullness of time.
