What to drink this week

Mencía

I remember, not that long ago, referring to Spain as the sleeping giant of the wine world. This was the country that had the world’s greatest acreage under vine, but, in those not very distant years, it was known almost exclusively for Rioja, sherry and the wines of the enterprising Catalonian firm of Torres. Nowadays, it could hardly be more different. Spain is bursting with new or newish denominaciones de orígen and rediscovered grape varieties. One of the most interesting is the black grape Mencía, grown up in the northwest, in the inland parts of Galicia and in Castilla y León.

It’s time to rediscover Spanish wine, votes Harry Eyres

Why you should be drinking it

Some ampelographers have related Mencía to Cabernet Franc, but this isn’t confirmed by DNA and, to my tastebuds, it usually seems more Burgundian—something like a cross between Pinot Noir and Gamay. At its best, it’s beautifully aromatic— raspberry-scented—like Pinot Noir, but it also has a certain earthiness that reminds me of Gamay.

What to drink

Castillo de los Templarios Mencía 2015 (www.marksandspencer.com; £9.50) from Bierzo in León has a youthful, purplish colour and a fragrant Gamay-ish nose—on the palate, it’s juicy with lots of immediately appealing fruit. Much more subtle is Villa de Corullón 2013, Descendientes de J. Palacios (right, £36.95; www.bbr. com). This wine is remarkably Burgundian, with depth and complex minerality. Lacima Dominio do Bibei 2013 (£42.50; www.bbr. com), from Ribeira Sacra in Galicia, does remind me, strangely enough, of Cabernet Franc, with notes of capsicum and ‘sousbois’. There’s also lovely, sweet ripe fruit on the palate.