Description
Joaquín Rebolledo, Valdeorras Mencía
When booking holiday travel, “shoulder season” is the period between peak and off-peak times, and it often comes with discounted rates. Today’s Galician red is the quintessential “shoulder wine” for me: perfect for the transition from summer to autumn and an exceptional value to boot.
It is also an opportunity to shine a light on the Valdeorras, a region every bit as dramatic and geologically blessed as better-known Mencía growing zones like Ribeira Sacra or Bierzo. Known historically for its mining industry, Valdeorras (“valley of gold”) is an incredibly rich patchwork of slate, quartzite, and schist, and only recently have its wine producers begun to exploit its full potential. Until the late 1970s, the region was planted primarily to Palomino (the high-yielding, somewhat neutral white used in Sherry production), but that changed in 1978 when Joaquín Rebolledo made the risky decision to replant all 35 hectares of his family’s vineyards with the native grapes Godello and Mencía. His fellow winegrowers told him he was completely tolo (“crazy”), but, as today’s wine confirms, he proved them wrong. If you are a lover of high-energy reds like Cru Beaujolais—fruity, easy-to-drink wines that nevertheless deliver profound minerality—this bargain-priced döppelganger will be a welcome addition. This red, at this price, is better than anyone has a right to expect. Grab as much as you can fit!
After tasting this 2020, I got to thinking about how some of our favorite expressions of classic varieties have been coming from areas other than their best-known homes: Nebbiolo from Alto Piemonte instead of Barolo or Barbaresco, for example, or Assyrtiko from Aegean islands other than Santorini. Mencía (men-THEE-uh) is grown in just a handful of areas on the Iberian Peninsula and most abundantly in the Bierzo region of Castilla y León. Closer to the coast in Galicia, Ribeira Sacra has also shown an affinity for the grape. Nestled directly in between those two regions is Valdeorras, which to this point might be better known for the white Godello. The dominant soil type is slate, in vineyards which, as in other parts of Galicia, cling to steep slopes along the Sil River. The appellation is at the eastern edge of the Ourense province, and while it does feel some Atlantic influence (funneled up through the river valley), it is less pronounced than in more coastal regions like Rías Baixas.
Joaquín Rebolledo’s vineyards have an abundance of slate, but he also has plots that feature sandy loams and dense clay. He chooses to blend grapes from these different plots to bring out the nuances of each soil type—minerality from the slate, floral notes from the sand, and fruit concentration from the clay. Seeing as these soils ripen the grapes at different speeds, harvest spans about 30 days or more to ensure picking at just the right time. Hand-harvested into small 15KG bins to avoid breakage, the grapes are taken back to the family’s 18th-century cellar, where the natural cooler temperatures and humidity allow for graceful maturation. Twice-daily pump-overs coax greater extraction of aromas and flavors, whilst micro-oxygenation softens the tannins and brightens the character of the fruit (much like the carbonic maceration typical of Beaujolais).
Mencía can range stylistically. Sometimes, it displays the tightly coiled power of Côte-Rôtie. Sometimes it resembles an herbaceous, lightweight Loire Cabernet Franc. And sometimes, as is the case with Rebolledo’s 2020, it’s a dead ringer for brightly fruited, mineral-rich Cru Beaujolais. In the glass, it has a deep ruby core moving to a pink rim, with aromas of wild strawberries, huckleberries, and vibrant cherries mingling with red and purple wildflowers. Had I tasted it blind, I might have pegged it as a nicely structured Fleurie. The palate is medium-bodied, fresh, and buoyant, with some notes of spice, crushed rocks, and faint hint of balsamic. At cooler service temperatures (55-60°F) the wine’s freshness is accentuated, whereas the savory elements become more prominent as the wine gets warmer. It’s a highly versatile food wine, and I can think of nothing better to welcome the cooler autumn weather than pairing it with the traditional Galician white bean and pork soup dish, caldo gallego. Of the many wine places I hope to get back to soon, Galicia is right at the top of my list. Until then, I’ll be pulling many Rebolledo corks in preparation. Cheers!
