2020 Raul Perez – Castro Ventosa, Mencia, D.O. Bierzo, Spain.
The fresh very Beaujolais like 2020 Castro Ventosa Mencia is vibrant and spicy with a pretty violet/lilsac nose, juicy berry fruits and a savory ops on the medium bodied palate, it shows off all the quaffable joy that this grape can deliver to near perfection. Authentic and charmingly raw in style, again reminding me of a Côte de Brouilly, this Mencia has layers of black raspberry, plum, candied cherry, pomegranate and cranberry fruits, good zesty acidity, loamy earth notes, minty anise, truffle, bay leaf and a light sense of old cedar. The family owned Castro Ventosa winery led by Raul Perez has been in viticulture since the 18th century and remains a benchmark producer in Castilla y Leon’s Bierzo region, focused on old vine Mencia wines, with all traditional bush vines and organic farming. This “Bunny” bottling is an entry level from the famed Raul Perez and made mostly from Valtuille de Abajo grapes, from very old vineyards, with a good combination of the of grapes sourced as well from all the places in the town, sometimes including over 300 micro plots! Fans of Mencia with really enjoy this bargain version and love its sultry character and easy to drink quality.
The Castro Ventosa estate, with the largest old vine holdings in the area, can proudly say that it is one of the few wineries in Bierzo with all its vineyards on their own property and Its Mencía vineyards are all more than 85 years old. As early as 1752, the ancestors of the Pérez family were vine growers in Valtuille region here and continue today under the leadership of Raul Perez, one of Spain’s greatest winemakers and the Godfather of Mencia! The soils here in the Bierzo, differ from the Ribeira Sacra and are mostly a mix of clay soils, clayey with stone, sandy and rich in organic matter and the terroir is more Continental influenced and with a minor bit of the cooling from the Atlantic, giving the Mencia real depth and complexity. Castro Ventosa typically lists this wine with having 85% Mencia, 8% Alicante Bouschet, and the other 7% being a mix of white grapes and other native and super rare varietals and usually sees a full de-stemming all stainless fermentation and maceration. The fermentation takes place only using native yeasts and lasts about 25 days, in cool temperature controlled vat the with daily pump overs before pressing, then it rests and goes through malos. After which the wine sees a short 3 months in neutral old 5,000L wood fudres, then it gets bottled quickly to preserve freshness and transparency. What’s not to love? This is an under the radar gem from Raul Perez’s family winery, I highly recommend chasing this one down.
($24 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive