2020 Paixar Mencía, Bodegas Luna Beberide, Bierzo, Spain
Critics reviews
8,000 bottles were filled in November 2021.
The 2020 Paixar is the one wine from the portfolio that is completely different from the others and comes from high-altitude vineyards in the zone of Dragonte on slate soils. In 2020 and 2021 they used the whole field blend - reds and around 5% white grapes, which might have given it an extra spark of acidity. It matured in 5,000-liter oak vat and 500-liter oak barrels. It has a perfumed nose, elegant and floral, with good ripeness but without excess. It's finely textured with a chalky thread and great balance. It finishes long and dry. This is truly superb and should evolve nicely in bottle. It's now Vino de Paraje 'A Serra' in Dragonte, a parish of Corullón.
Drink 2023 - 2032
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate (January 2022)
About this WINE
Luna Beberide
Bodegas Luna Beberide, located in the Bierzo region of Spain, is a winery founded in 1987 by Alejandro Luna, who comes from a family with a long history of winemaking. The Bierzo region is known for its cool climate and slate soils, ideal for growing the Mencía grape, the primary variety used to produce the local wines. The region is also known for its steep, terraced vineyards, often planted on hillsides and mountainsides.
Bodegas Luna Beberide produces various wines, including red, white, and rosé. The winery's flagship is the Luna Beberide Mencía, made from 100% Mencía grapes. It is aged in French oak barrels for 12 months, giving it a smooth and elegant character.
In addition to the Luna Beberide Mencía, the winery produces a range of other wines, including the Luna Beberide Godello and the Luna Beberide Rosado. They also produce a limited-edition wine called the Luna Beberide Finca la Cuesta, made from old-vine Mencía grapes grown in the winery's oldest vineyard.
Bierzo
The wine region of Bierzo (or El Bierzo) is a small, rural and remote ancient region in the north-western corner of Castilla y León, touching the eastern border of Galicia. Up until the 1990s, it remained unknown to the international wine markets.However, thanks to the wave of investment and innovation that swept many parts of Spain in the late 1990s, the wine region of Bierzo now counts as one of the country’s rising stars, on a par with other wine hotspots such as Rueda, Penedès, Toro and Jumilla.
Mencía is the region’s primary grape and undisputed star, covering nearly two-thirds of the vineyards. This red grape variety is grown almost exclusively in the north-western part of Spain (especially in the DOs of Galicia, Valdeorras, Monterrey, and Ribeira Sacra). Mencía ripens early, by mid-September, and is well suited to the maritime climate of Bierzo where autumn rains are quite common.Mencía has only recently come into the spotlight as a quality, potential-laden grape variety. When properly made, it offers fascinating wines across a contrasting spectrum of styles: at one end are fruity and forward wines with supple tannins and succulent fruit; at the other, more concentrated, powerful styles with an exotic earthiness, smooth tannins and an enviable reflection of the mineral-rich Bierzo terroir.
Mencía is capable of making excellent wine on its own, with no need to sacrifice its unique character in the Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot blends that are so commonplace elsewhere in Spain.Other grape varieties planted in Bierzo include the red Garnacha Tintorera, and the aromatic whites Godello, Doña Blanca and Malvasía.
The region received its DO (Denominación Origen) from the Spanish wine authorities only in 1989. Today it is home to approximately 60 wineries and over 4,000 growers, which means that Bierzo remains a highly-fragmented wine region where the average holding is miniscule.
The wine region made its breakthrough in 1999 when Alvaro Palacios teamed up with his nephew, Ricardo Pérez, to establish Descendientes de J. Palacios. Alvaro Palacios is recognised as one of Spain’s most talented and visionary winemakers, having revolutionised the wines of Prioriat in the late 1980s - he was one of the “founding 8” of Priorat winemakers who brought international fame to the region.
Descendientes de J Palacios remains one of the best wineries in the region, focusing on the Mencía grape, with some of its vineyards planted on steep hillsides and as much as 50 or even 100 years old.
Mencía
Mencía is the primary grape of the Bierzo region and its undisputed star, covering nearly two-thirds of the vineyards. This red grape variety is grown almost exclusively in north-western part of Spain (especially in the DOs of Galicia, Valdeorras, Monterrei, and Ribeira Sacra). Mencía ripens early, by mid-September, and is well suited to the maritime climate of Bierzo where autumn rains are quite common.
Mencía has only recently come into spotlight as a quality, potential-laden grape variety. When properly made, it offers fascinating wines across a contrasting spectrum of styles; on the one end are fruity and forward wines with supple tannins and succulent fruit. On the other end are more concentrated, powerful styles with an exotic earthiness, smooth tannins and an enviable reflection of the minerally-rich Bierzo terroir.
Mencía is capable of making excellent wine on its own, with no need to sacrifice its unique character in blends with Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot that are commonplace elsewhere in Spain.
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Description
This is an absolutely stunning example of the Mencía grape variety sourced from very old, high-altitude vines in the mountains of Dragonte. There is a delightful purity and elegance to this wine with an array of floral aromas leaping from the glass. On the palate there is bundles of complexity with intense black fruits alongside hints of black pepper and liquorice, balanced by a wonderful freshness and structure.
The tannins are apparent but extremely well integrated which makes this wine very approachable in its youth but it will certainly have capacity to develop further complexity with age. The finish is extremely long and satisfying with the freshness making it very hard to resist another glass. This must be one of the finest wines I have ever tasted at this price point!
Drink 2022 - 2030
Hugo Dale, Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd
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