Old World winegrowers are very committed and proud of their traditional small grape varieties that also grew here.
Spain, the central part is northwest of the Castilla y Leon region.
Although Tempranillo is overwhelming here (see "The Stage of Tempranillo"), in the Bierzo wine region northwest of Castilla y Leon, the century-old Mencia vine still stands proudly against Tempranillo.
The Mencia at Dominio de Tares is all single-varietal winemaking. From simple, easy-to-drink low-end wines to 115-year-old vine-old high-end wines P3 2013, Mencia is a grape variety that characterizes its light, delicate, feminine and light taste.
The owner of Casar de Burbia, Isidro Fernandez Bello, is a man who can't wait to share his passion and philosophy with you, with a commitment and pride in the indigenous grape variety Mencia, who was born and grew up here. Winemaking is lonely, and in this remote winery, there are very wonderful 2016 Mencia wines that are maturing in different barrels.
While trying the 2016 Mencia wines aged in different oak barrels at Casar de Burbia, Isidro Fernandez Bello said he was glad that he was not born in the New World, but here in the Old World, because—
There are Mencia grape varieties that are not available in the outside world, which is unique and unique;
There is no shortage of similarities and replicates in this world, and the outside world is flooded with familiar international grape varieties, which can be found everywhere, and only here can rare and precious small grape varieties be found.
But that doesn't mean Isidro Fernandez Bello is a self-satisfied person, on the contrary, he is also innovative. He read a lot of books from New World wine-producing countries to absorb their essence, but he felt that the practical experience and innovative attempts in the wine cellar were worth 2,000 books. The 2016 Mencia wines from different slopes are maturing in different oak barrels, and he pours them for us to try one by one, letting the wines tell us about their unrevealed beauty.
At a time when this international grape variety is the world's leader and Tempranillo is overwhelming in Spain, Mencia is lonely, lonely and low-key, but there are always people who are clinging to it and proud of it, and there are always people who are obsessed with it.
It is the unique, unspeakable persistence and pride, persistence and obsession of old-world winegrowers.
【 Published in the 100th issue of "Wine Codex" 】