A little while ago I read about the Wine Bloggers Wednesday (#WBW70) project being restarted and this got me quite excited! The theme for this first Wednesday is Spanish wines and my friends at Catavino suggested to pick something a little out of the ordinary. So instead of looking for a Rioja, a Priorat or Ribero del Duero I decided to venture out and look for something I did not know yet. I found this Mencia from Bierzo at Grape District in Haarlem. The shop had labelled this wine as smooth and velvety, I liked the pretty label (yes I know I am such a girl!!) and was intrigued by the Mencia grape so I bought the bottle.
Once I got home I looked up Menzia in my Grape & Wine book by Oz Clarke and this is his description: “This grape of the North of Spain gives light, fresh, acidic reds with a raspberry and black currant leaf flavour, not unlike a slightly raw Cabernet Franc, and good tannin. It is delicious drunk young and doesn’t need the oak it is sometimes smothered in.” I still was not too sure what to make of the Mencia so when I had some friends over for dinner a few days later I just couldn’t resit opening the bottle. The wine was deep purple in colour with long legs, and showed aromas of lavender, liquorice and dark cherry. It had a good mouth feel, good tannin, great acidity and semi strong favours of blackberry, cherry, liquorice, cedar and some kind of astringency reminding me of strong black tea in the middle palate. We paired the wine with a roast beef, roasted baby potatoes and red onion, sweet baby carrots, broccoli and sautéed Brussels sprouts, and with the food the wine somehow became sweeter and showed more red fruit characters – though none of us got the raspberries. We had some more wine with the cheese platter and decided it paired well with the old Dutch cheese and the Italian Cambozola. I found the wine opened up a lot when left in the glass and think I should have maybe decanted it… I will definitely buy another bottle to try this as I really enjoyed the Bierzo Mencia and at a mere €15 I feel it over delivers!
I liked the fact that the producer’s name is Deciendientos de J Palacios – it intrigued me as was Alvaro Palacios who first put Bierzo on the map according to the World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson. He was fascinated by the slate terraces in the Bierzo region which were so very different from the predominantly clay soils of his Native Priorat and loved the more delicate style of wines which were produced here. I do wonder whether he was related to José Palacios??
Gabriella Opaz
Thanks so much for reaching past the famed regions to seek out something a little off the beaten path!! Very appreciated and glad you enjoyed the journey :)
Caroline
Thank you Gabi for inspiring me to look for something different. Really enjoyed a lot of the stories I have read and am going to continue to venture outside the comfort zone to try more exciting and less known varieties from Spain!
Wine Blog Wednesday #70 Wrap-Up: Reaching Out of Your Comfort Zone with Spanish Wines | Catavino
[…] DO Somontano Rick Fisher (USA) – 2006 Pirineos Parraleta, DO Somontano Miss in Wine (USA) – 2008 Petalos, DO Bierzo Sip, Swirl, Snark (USA) – 2003 Ribas del Cúa Mencia, DO Bierzo Spwein (Spain) – 2008 Petalos, […]
En onsdag fyra viner | Aqua vitae – livets vatten
[…] nästan glömt bort det trots att vi köpt ett par årgångar av detta innan och uppskattat det, Missinwine skrev dock om det i samband med Wine Blogging Wednesday #70 och ett par dagar senare fick jag tips […]
Magnus Reuterdahl
Nice post – good wine. I’ve found this a few years ago and have drunk the 2006 and 2007. Now I’ve tasted the 08. In short my impressions are; Good acidity, silky tannins, good oak, dark fruit, some mineral tones (clay) and medium finish, with hints of chocolate and graphite. A nice wine with a neat label.
Magnus Reuterdahl
Caroline
Good to hear you like the wine too – I will try some different vintages and will try the Rioja’s and the Swedish stew one day soon too!
fastpoose
Really great wine, my first foray into the mencia also. Really defined yet complex on the nose, and on the palate, great structure and length. Got it for $40 australian (same US), worth every cent.