Collection: Mencía

Mencía is a red grape variety from northwestern Spain, and this is where our entire selection has its origin. The variety has its true homeland in Bierzo, where it is the primary red grape, and its influence has spread northward through Atlantic Spain. With us you will find especially wines from Castilla y León and from Ribeira Sacra, where Mencía is likewise the leading red variety.

It is the soil that makes the difference. Mencía is grown on slate and granite, and it is precisely on slate soil that the grape shows its most distinctive character. Aromatically it leans toward blackberry and a fine floral scent, and the wines have a bright, fresh acidity that gives them life and vigour. The tannins are fine-grained, and on its best day the expression is delicate and uplifting. Historically Mencía could yield more rustic wines, where the acidity could seem either refreshing or harsh depending on the winemaking, and for exactly that reason the variety rewards a gentle hand in the cellar.

Stylistically Mencía spans broadly. You encounter it both as a pure varietal and in field blends, where in Ribeira Sacra it is included for instance together with Caíño and Espadeiro, and in Castilla y León it can be blended with Prieto Picudo. The grape makes both red wines and rosados. The winemaking varies from fermentation in steel tank to wooden barrels, often with whole clusters and long maceration on skins and stems. Some wines are aged in various oak barrels, including 500-litre barrels, while others are kept entirely without oak to let the grape's own character come clearly to the fore.

Part of the area's vineyards holds old vines of 70 years and more in single plots, and there are even pre-phylloxera vines. This gives wines with depth and a sense of place. If you are looking for a Spanish red wine with fresh acidity, fine fruit and a clear sense of origin, Mencía is a good place to begin.