Not too tannic, good fruit, marked acidity. It’s been a while since I’ve had Mencía.
- Grape: Mencía
- Alcohol: 14%
- Wine: Música En El Camino
- Vintage: 2017
- Winery: Martin Codex (Alma Atlántica)
- Location: Bierzo, Spain
- Date: 1/13/21
- Distributor: Pan American Wines
Curious Synonyms: Jaen, Jaen Do Dao, Fernao Pires Tinta, Tinto Mollar, Loureiro Tinto, Giao
Nerd Alert: It was once thought to be an ancient clone of Cabernet Franc, it has similar aromas. This notion was dispelled. DNA profiling carried out by the Department of Vegetal Biology of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid has concluded that Mencía is identical to Portugal’s Jaen do Dão (or Jaen for short) grape variety. However, just recently it has been determined via microsatellite DNA fingerprinting analysis that, contrary to what was previously believed, Mencía (Jaén do Dão) likely originated in Portugal since it was the result of a crossing between Alfrocheiro and Patorra, two Portuguese red grape cultivars from the Dão and the Douro regions respectively.
Personal Note: I’ve had Mencía before. A few years back I mostly drank Spanish wines but I never could identify it. I mean it’s a good grape that makes good wines but it’s not easily identifiable for my unrefined abilities. I would always guess it was a Garnacha. And that’s the thing with some regional grapes. If there’s not a large basis for comparison, it’s practically impossible to identify blindly. Upon researching the grape I must say I was quiet surprise to read that Jaen would be the primary grape since it originated in Portugal. I think this wine served it’s purpose as a middle of the week wine. I’ve yet to try a more, elaborate wine with the grape. Maybe that would be helpful for my grape memory.
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*Sources for the wine facts are from: Wine Searcher, Wikipedia, Vivino, wine.com, and the wineries websites.
