2011 CVA A Portela Mencia Valdeorras

Staff Reviews

DO

David Othenin-Girard

David Othenin-Girard

MENCIA FOR THE MASSES! I'm constantly having to ask my customers if they're familiar with the Mencia grape. This is truly the last great unknown grape of Spain and has always been a darling of the staff for its ability to produce incredibly balanced, expressive, and exciting wines for very reasonable prices. What we have here is a blockbuster Mencia being sold for a tiny fraction of what it's worth. Opulent in its richness, but remaining lifted and quaff-able despite the powerful aromatics. Of course the big score will make this fly, but it's so much more than a score. Really a great way to get your feet wet with one of Spain's great grapes.

KM

Keith Mabry

Keith Mabry

The benchmark for mencia is the Petalos by Alvaro Palacios, but with this wine me may have to move the needle over. This is all at once spicy, smoky, savoury and a fruit loaded. Complex on the palate with a well-rounded finish, all for a price that can not be beaten.

Notes

If Mencía is the most exciting Spanish red grape variety to have become popular over the past decade or so, then the heart of "green Spain," Galicia, and its D.O.'s of Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras have surely been the drivers of this trend. Given the variety of slate and granite based terroirs, typically on steep hillside slopes, as well as a new generation of vignerons excited to work these challenging yet rewarding vineyard sites, these wines have never been better. A Portela shows lots of dark cherry fruit, intense and chewy yet with balanced freshness as well, and terrific minerality. It's a lovely mid-weight red to pair with grilled sausages, chicken and even grilled salmon or tuna.