Wineoyama #5: 2018 Bierzo Mencia
Note from the Lab: Jen is a wine enthusiast, not an expert. However, she is a super taster, so we all trust her judgment!
Dr. Linda Zhang sent me a bottle of her favorite Spanish wine as a gift after I gave a presentation at her postdoc PI's (Dr. Bryan Strange) lab meeting. Linda was here at UCSF when I was still a postdoc and I informally oversaw her visiting scholar project to assess cortical parcellation of MRIs of Chinese individuals from our Alzheimer’s disease research center. That was back in the day when Luke was about 20% in the informal Laboyama because I couldn’t afford him. We had many adventures in FreeSurfer and food—Linda and partner Csy are major foodies (!!!!!) and we missed Linda dearly when she went back to Hong Kong to finish her PhD.
Linda and Csy picked one of their favorite “good value” (as in, great flavor for a good price) Spanish wines to send over via wine.com. Here is the first non-wine-educated Jen Wineoyama blog description of this delightful treat from a long-time friend and colleague. I hope we can collaborate together again, Linda of the Strange Lab!!
Csy says:
Mencía (“Men-thee-ah”) is a medium-bodied red wine grape that produces high quality wines with floral and red fruit flavors. It has the ability to age like other fine wines and it offers rich aromas in the glass. If you love Pinot Noir...then Mencía is something worth investigating. Mencía contains high levels of a sub-group of aroma compounds called terpenoids which translate into lovely flowery aromas, strawberry, raspberry, black licorice, pomegranate and cherry sauce. On the palate you’ll be greeted with peppery flavors of sour cherry, red currant and pomegranate....a subtle crushed gravel or granite-like minerality in the texture, which often contributes to its black peppery taste.
Mencia can also express the slate terraces it is grown on – notably in the top bottlings from another outfit owned by Palacios family, Descendientes J Palacios, but can also make lovely unoaked wines for relatively early drinking. There's an appealing aromatic, flirtatious quality to Mencia – so much so that for many years the locals were convinced it was related to Cabernet Franc.
Bierzo happens to be an area featuring the largest concentration of very old vines, most of them Mencia, in the world. It is a grape that is somewhat moderate to low in acidity, but produces elegant wines, with tannins that aren't as strong as those of Tempranillo, and flavors that perhaps are a bit more peppery and floral, particularly so when grown at higher elevations in slate soils. That said, much of the D.O.'s vineyard land is not planted on slate, but rich, red clay soils, occasionally containing quartz. As I mentioned earlier, this is a region where Mediterranean and continental climates collide, with a bit of an Atlantic influence as well; vine stress due to drought is not an issue here thanks to plentiful rains.
Our choice, Descendientes de J. Palacios, is a leading producer of red wines from the Mencia grape in the Bierzo region of northwest Spain. It was founded in 1998, and is a collaboration between Alvaro Palacios of Priorat fame, and his nephew Ricardo Perez Palacios. The venture is credited with bringing the region to much greater prominence. Petalos, the latest triumph from Alvaro Palacios, comes from 60 year-old vines and farmed biodynamically, is an intense wine that mingles beautifully wild plum, smoke, and spice flavors.
Wine
#5
Descendientes de Jose Palacios: "Petalos" Bierzo
Bierzo region of Spain
Slightly cooled (40 minutes in the fridge from room temp)
Tip: We aerated this, because Linda suggested letting it breathe for a couple hours.
Berry on the nose, little touch of Spanish barnyard as it opens, cranberry garnet color. Has legs (I think that’s what they call it). Smooth, not sweet on the palate. Definitive Spanish barnyard. Quick finish, almost alkaline. Definite salinity on tail end.
Interesting juxtaposition of fruity nose and saline barnyard on palate. Seems like it would pair well with manchego cheese.
Subtly drier after additional air.
Makes my tummy subtly warm and heart warmer thinking about dear Linda, and how it feels like she is still part of the Laboyama family even though it’s been 7 years since she was at UCSF. Thank you, Linda!!
-Jen
