Losada El Pajaro Rojo Mencia 2013
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Mencía thrives on slate, but when it’s grown on clay it can tend toward low-acid wines. That’s the case in certain areas of Bierzo, expecially around Villafranca, the capital of the D.O. This wine, from 30- to 40-year-old vines, seems to be an exception. With rich flavors of ripe red fruit, earth and spice, this is a complex and juicy Bierzo. Yes, its texture is soft and creamy, but it runs deep into meaty flavors and mineral tannins, a wine that needs oxtail today or five years in bottle.
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Losada Vinos de Finca was established in 2004 on the outskirts of the village of Pieros, on the Camino de Santiago, midway between Cacabelos and Villafranca del Bierzo, opposite the ruins of Castro Ventosa, Bierzo’s Roman-era fortification.
Losada’s founding philosophy was to take the region’s wines to higher level, prioritizing elegance, balance and purity of expression through limited production and adequate, but not excessive, technology. They sought out old Mencía vineyards planted on primarily clay soils, a terroir which had been relatively overlooked by the Bierzo new wave of the 1990s in its ‘rush to slate’.
The skins of Mencía grapes grown on clay soils are more hydrated and less thick, the structure more mellow, the wines generally softer in feel. Fresh acidity (the backbone of Bierzo wines) in combination with this tenderness, created an elegance that is now considered a principal characteristic of Bierzo wines.
Every part of the winemaking process is unhurried. The sustainably-farmed fruit is harvested by hand and undergoes rigorous selection on the vine so that additional sorting at the winery is minimal. After de-stemming, the grapes are gently crushed and fermentation begins naturally using the indigenous yeasts. Fruit from individual plots is kept separate in order to better observe and interpret the variety from each location, a traditional non-interventionist technique that aims to showcase the soil. Cooperage is 100% French, with a minimum barrel capacity of 300L. All techniques are adjusted according to the character of the vintage, and the wines are differentiated according to vineyard origin rather than the length of time spent in the barrel.
Spanish red wine is known for being bold, heady, rustic and age-worthy, Spain is truly a one-of-a-kind wine-producing nation. A great majority of the country is hot, arid and drought-ridden, and since irrigation has only been recently introduced and (controversially) accepted, viticulture has sustained—and flourished—only through a great understanding of Spain’s particular conditions. Large spacing between vines allows each enough resources to survive and as a result, the country has the most acreage under vine compared to any other country, but is usually third in production.
Of the Spanish red wines, the most planted and respected grape variety is Tempranillo, the star of Spain’s Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions. Priorat specializes in bold red blends, Jumilla has gained global recognition for its single varietal Monastrell and Utiel-Requena has garnered recent attention for its reds made of Bobal.