La Vizcaina by Raul Perez Las Gundinas Tinto 2018
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Robert
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
La Gundiñas is the wine that shows the most differences between 2017 and 2018, when the 2018 La Vizcaína Las Gundiñas feels like a mini-Bonnes Mares! This happened in 2013, and this 2018 is like a refined version. This vineyard was somewhat irregular in the past, but they bought it in 2018; now that they work the vineyard and have 100% control, it might be more regular. There have been ups and downs with this wine over the years, and this 2018 is clearly one of the ups. The other highlight was 2013. This wine is the palest of the 2018s. It's from a vineyard that perhaps has a bit more white Valenciana grapes. This is super elegant, a rara avis. Bravo!
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La Vizcaina is a relatively new project from Raul Purez that explores the hillside crus around his hometown of Vatuille de Abajo. Four reds and one white are produced under the name, all from vines with over fifty years of average age. Though all the red wines Raul produces in the Bierzo D.O. are labelled as 100% Mencía, they all in fact contain significant quantities of other local grapes.
The rich varietal diversity found in Galicia is due in large part to the famous Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint James in the town of Santiago de Compostela, the earliest references to which date back to the 9th century. The monks who made the journey would often carry vine cuttings from their home regions in their packs to offer as gifts to the Spanish monasteries that would put them up along the way. This is certainly the explanation for the preponderance of Trousseau found throughout northwestern Spain.
Primarily found in the Bierzo, Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras regions of Spain and in the Dão of Portugal (where it is called Jaen), Mencia is an early ripening, low acid grape that can produce wines of great concentration, complexity and ageability. And yet Mencia once suffered from a poor reputation and deemed capable of producing simple and light red wines. Post-phylloxera growers would grow this variety on low, fertile plains, which produced high yields and uncomplicated finished wines. Somm Secret—The recent rediscovery of the ancient, abandoned vines planted on rugged hillsides of deep schist has unveiled the potential of Mencia and added discredit to its old reputation.
One of the few northwestern Spanish regions with a focus on a red variety, Bierzo, part of Castilla y León, is home to the flowery and fruity Mencia grape. Mencia produces balanced and bright red wines full of strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate, baking spice, pepper and black licorice. The well-drained soils of Bierzo are slate and granite.