El Valao 2023

El Valao is a single variety Mencía from Vinos Valtuille, a family winery in Valtuille de Abajo near Villafranca del Bierzo that began in 1999 and is now run by the next generation of the García Alba family. The grapes come from a small plot of 90 year old vines on clay soils, in a region with a transitional Atlantic to continental climate that keeps the fruit fresh. Bierzo gives Mencía its signature: bright red fruit, a floral and herbal lift and a stony minerality drawn from the area's slate and clay. The old vines and low yields give concentration without weight, and the eight months in used French oak is a deliberately light touch, the seasoned barrels lending gentle structure and a slow oxygen exchange that rounds the tannins while leaving the fresh fruit and aromatics in the foreground. The wine shows a bright cherry red colour, a nose of red berries, redcurrant and dried herbs over a faint smoke and pepper, and a light to medium bodied palate with juicy acidity, fine tannins and a clean mineral finish. Serve lightly cool at 15 to 16 degrees, with roast poultry or a mushroom dish.