I am a big fan of The Spanish Acquisition for a number of reasons one being Katrina Miller, the Sydney representative who is a joy to deal with and always makes sure my wine arrives on time. The second reason is Mr Scott Wasley for introducing me to the Spanish grape Mencia.
The first time I tried this amazing grape was at a masterclass last year held by Scott and the first thing I wrote as my tasting note was Shit!!Fuck !!Wow!!
Mencia is a pretty weird grape when tasting for the first time. I kept trying to resemble it to something that I had tried before but couldn’t. I kept finding roasted meat with oozing blood characters, a light red fruit character that made me think of Grenache then I would find lifted floral aromas that made me think of an elegant burgundy. The palate was so bold and up-front, the tannin structure though light, grabbed me by the front teeth and told me to stand up and pay attention. I’ll say it again – Shit!! Fuck!! Wow!!
Since that day I have been pouring a Mencia by the glass at Bloodwood Restaurant in Newtown, I was a little worried at first,would people try it? Would they like it? The answer has been a resounding yes to both questions, it seems the people are just as enthralled by his variety as I am.
Now to be fair the producer of the wine that made me lose my mind last year is the man with me in the picture above. He is Ricardo Perez Palacios or D.J.P which means Decendientes de J. Palacios.
This man is an incredible winemaker, making some of the finest and rarest wines in the world. I was lucky enough to meet him and have lunch the other day at the awesome Universal Restaurant ( for the record Christine Manfield is a god when it comes to food)
Spiced Pork Belly and white figs…. It didn’t last long.
Then we had king fish and mushrooms…
Which also didn’t last long..
But I have, as often happens been distracted by food… yes back to the important stuff…….. WINE!!
Ricardo and his uncle Alvaro make Mencia in the Bierzo region in Spain.The ‘Petalos’ ( which is the wine I pour at Bloodwood) is a blend from all his vineyards and can be considered his entry level wine, though the quality is amazing – having spent 6 months in oak, it is a great way to fall in love with this variety however the big guns are the Single Vineyard Wines, which come from only 3 separate vineyards and only a tiny amount is made every year.
They are -Moncerbal, Las Lamas and La Farona.
Tasting notes for these wines are as follows –
I was incredibly surprised at how amazing the differences are of these three wines, considering the vineyards are right next to each other. Talk about Terroir, you really don’t get a better example than these
2008 D.J.P Petalos Mencia
Lovely fruit on the nose with a touch of earthiness and a hint of blood, second time round I got loads of red cherry skins. The palate showed minerality with fine silky tannins, low acidity and a delightful meaty steak quality.
Four x Kiss from the Mistress
2006 D.J.P Corullon Mencia
Savoriness on the nose, clay and earth characters, then blood and bone. Fleshy on the palate,with rounded soft tannins low acidity and a hint of minerality.
Four x Kiss from the Mistress
2007 D.J.P Corullon Mencia
Floral and red rose petals, a slight oxidation quality with older fruit such as muscatel; more distinct and upfront tannin structure.
3 x Kiss from the Mistress
2007 D.J.P Moncerbal Single Vineyard Mencia
Really red fruit driven, fleshy cherry almost maraschino esq, hints of chocolate biscuit and a soft delightful balanced tannin structure. Nice acidity that works and fleshy red fruit all over the place.
Four x kisses and a slap on the bum from the Mistress
2007 D.J.P Las Lamas Single Vineyard Mencia
Really meaty and very complex. I couldn’t get past the roasted steak quality on this one. Elegant on the palate with soft glorious yet gripping lengthy tannins and minerality.
Four x kiss from the Mistress
2007 D.J.P La Farona Single Vineyard Mencia
A fresher nose than the last 2, earth and a tiny hint of smokey tobacco. Red flesh noticeable on the palate, minerality and up-front tannins. Really bloody complex and balanced. I could have my nose in this for hours.
5 x Kiss from the Mistress.
The La Farona was one of my favourite wines of the day and it had nothing to do with the price tag ( which was really up there) I could see this wine just getting better and better with age.
The title of this blog post is “Rockstars of Wine” not Rock star of wine, there was another “rock star” there at lunch that day, his name is Telmo Rodriquez and he is the true definition of wine royalty…
Telmo is the King of Tempranillo. He makes it all over Spain along with a few other varieties and probably the best dessert wine I have tried in a very long time.
I have a lot to say and quite a bit of praise for this “rock star” but I feel he deserves his own blog post….. So till next time
Kisses
MOV xx
Mistress of the Vine 