To write this column, the Bruja travels across the country looking for new or different experiences that you wouldn’t find in your local supermarket or wineshop. Here is an example from northwestern Spain.
100% Mencía, D.O. Bierzo.
D.O. Bierzo is located in the northwest of the province of León covering approximately an area of 3,000 square kilometers. It is home to over 12,000 vineyards, 80% of which are considered old vines, cultivated by 2,100 winegrowers.
Bierzo’s vineyards are typically small plots that have been passed down through families for generations. Subdividing land among heirs has resulted in increasingly smaller parcels, similar to the vineyard fragmentation seen in Burgundy, France.
Bierzo is characterized by a continental-oceanic climate and a unique topography known as the Bierzo Basin. This landscape features moderate undulations, allowing for the production of different types of wine depending on the degree of sun exposure and the altitude of the vineyards, which range from 450 to 800 meters above sea level.
Bierzo’s dominant grape is Mencía, a Roman-time, red grape, also grown in other regions of the northwest: Ribeira Sacra, Valdeorras, and Monterrei. Mencía thrives in regions with a combination of continental and Atlantic climates, characterised by moderate rainfall and significant temperature variations between day and night. The soils are often slate-based, contributing to the mineral qualities of the wines.
Dominio de Tares, while a youngish bodega established in 2000, it manages several vineyards, many of which feature old vines, and have built a reputation for quality Mencia and Godello wines.
Baltos is 100% Mencia aged for 4-6 meses French, oak barrels then kept for a year in the bottes before being released. It has an Intense ruby colour, with violet sparkles on the edge. The nose is fresh with wild berries, touch of licorice, graphite and fresh fennel. In the mouth it has a black pepper and gravel minerality, fresh acidity, and robust tannins with slight tingling bitterness that adds to the black pepper spicy edge. Open one hour before consuming.
This is a great food wine, a peppery steak; rosemary lamb, mushroom risotto, spicy dal and rice, Manchego cheese, olives.
90 – 92 Bruja points; €9.80 rrom El Corte Ingles, https://www.elcorteingles.es/, or or directly from the vineyard https://tienda.dominiodetares.com/
(News/Feature: Wine)