The choice between Échezeaux and Cornas…
Wine lovers and customers often ask me what my favourite wine or grape variety is. My answer is always the same: it depends on the moment and my mood.
But I also have to admit that Mencía is definitely in my top 3!
And I notice that for many wine lovers, Mencía is still something they are trying to get their heads around. They often ask me how I would describe it. And sorry, but it is still much easier to compare it with regions and grape varieties people already know. That way, you immediately know which direction we are heading in.
Mencía, at least from the top producers, always sits somewhere between great Northern Rhône and refined Grand Cru Burgundy. Depending on the vintage, it can lean more towards one or the other.
In riper years, it often has that rustic and fleshy style of Cornas, Côte-Rôtie or Hermitage.
In lighter years, it shows more of the finesse, minerality and red fruit of a Burgundy Grand Cru (but from a top vintage, of course… 😉).
Terroir naturally also plays an important role.
And
Álvaro Palacios, as one of the big names and pioneers of Priorat, knows a thing or two about that. Together with his younger nephew
Ricardo, they decided early on to explore the full potential of Mencía. We are talking about the late 1990s.
In Bierzo, broadly speaking, there are 2 important terroirs: in lower Bierzo, poor sandy and limestone soils, and in higher Bierzo, mainly slate. Guess what Álvaro and Ricardo chose when they moved to Bierzo: slate, of course. Álvaro already knew it inside out from Priorat.
There are still some differences, though…: in Priorat, Garnatxa is the main grape and the climate is Mediterranean. In Bierzo, we have Mencía and an Atlantic climate. And all that combined with slate!
Recipe for success!
2022 was more of a Northern Rhône year, with that rustic, slightly firmer style, but one that gains finesse with age. And above all, perfect for game season.
My favourite from 2022 was the fantastic Grand Cru from Álvaro and Ricardo: Las Lamas.
A field blend from a steep slope of around 1.6 ha, entirely from old vines: mainly Mencía (92%), complemented by Palomino and Tintorera. Perfect balance.
Agreed, it is not cheap for a “Spanish wine”, but you can
easily serve it blind alongside the big names I mentioned above. And then you are looking at a very different price tag…
Suddenly, that Spaniard offers an awful lot of wine for the money.