Beirzo
Bierzo in a nutshell…(part 2)
So, I’ve finished traveling all around the place (I hope) and back into writing up my last trip to Spain….
Bierzo in a nutshell…(part 1)
It’s impossible to define a whole region after visiting for a couple of days and talking to a handful of winemakers, but here is a quick overview of what makes this a special place to make wine.
Cuatro Pasos 2006
The name means four steps. Just about everything about this wine is done in 4s: the grapes come from 4 different villages, 4 different types of oak are used etc. The vines are over 80 years old, wellthat’s a multiple of 4…
Pittacum Mencia 2005
There is nothing like a bit of old vine Mencia in winter. I keep hearing that mencia is the next big thing to come out of Spain, and I’m already convinced that the wines are great, but I never hear much about them in the press. Eric Asimov from the New York Times has writen up some interesting things about mencia in his trip to Ribera Sacra. It’s a good read, but go and have a look for the photos. They make me want to get on a plane…
Luna Beberide Mencia 2007
This is another wine that has had the magic hands of Mariano Garcia on it. He must be a busy guy with consulting gigs all over northern Spain. Anyway, this is mencia in it’s most elemental form, or as a joven wine if you will. 20 year old vines, planted very high up (up to 2400 feet above sea level) fermented in stainless steal and bottled unfiltered. It’s quite a cracking wine, and after tasting a couple of reds from Chinon in the Loire Valley on Sunday night I can see the link people have made to Cabernet Franc (DNA tests have now proved there is no relationship apparently).
Descendientes de José Palacios Corullón 2005
I've said before that this is a sleeper, and I still think its ture. Tempranillo and Garnarcha get all the big press, but well made Mencia wines are stunning and offer something quite different. I took this to an offline last week and did the blind options thing. Unfortunately people know I'm going to bring [...]
Dominio de Tares Baltos 2005
This is probably one of the strangest wine labels I've seen. It's even textured. I kind of like it, I'm sure it would be much more enjoyable after a couple of bottles. I'm thinking that Hoddles Creek should do something similar for their reserve label, but with frogs instead of people. Very classy.
The Baltos is [...]
Dominio de Tares Cepas Viejas 2004
It looks like a number of the major importers have just landed new shipments of Wine in the last couple of weeks. Loads of new releases should be hitting the shelves, including this one. Dominio de Tares has been one of the leading producers in Bierzo since 2000. Going on this bottle they deserve it.
[...]
Descendientes de José Palacios Corullón 2004
Ok, another big name 04 wine. I think of all of the red wines of Spain, Mencia from Biezro is the real sleeper. I've only had a handful of wines from the region, but they have all been intriguing wines with real character and style, seemingly built for long term aging. I need some of [...]
Descendientes de José Palacios Corullón 2003
Tucked away in the northwest corner of Castilla y Leon is a little region called Bierzo. It is high up in the hills and hides a number of very old (50-100 years old) vineyards planted with an odd little grape called Mencia. It is apparently a clone of Cabernet Franc brought to the region by french [...]
Recent Comments
- golos on Marques de Riscal Reserva 2001
- DELDUQUE O. MARTINS on Gonzalez Byass ‘Del Duque’ Amontillado
- sergio on Faustino I Gran Reserva 1996
- Fintan Devitt on Mantel Blanco Sauvignon Blanc 2006
- Gery Albu on Condado De Haza Tinto 2003
