Descendientes de Jose Palacios 2020 'Petalos' Mencia, Bierzo DO

Descendientes de Jose Palacios 2020 'Petalos' Mencia, Bierzo DO

Item Number: 16644

UPC: 8-436559740173

Country: Spain
Region: Castilla y Leon
Sub Region: Bierzo
Appellation/AVA: Bierzo DO
Estate Grown Wine: No
Vintage: 2020
Grape(s): 92% Mencia / 8% Other
Type: Wine - Red
Bottle Size: 750 ml
Pack: 12
Closure: Cork
Alc by Vol(%): 14.1
Viticulture: Practicing Biodynamic
Soil Type: Schist and clay

Winemaking Notes: The grapes were picked from August 28th to September 24th and fermented partly destemmed in stainless steel and oak vats with indigenous yeast for 43 days with a slow malolactic fermentation that lasted two months. The wine matured in barrel for around eight months (malolactic was fast, and the wines were put in barrel early) and was bottled unclarified, unfiltered and non-stabilized with cold.

Vineyard Notes: Pétalos Mencía is sourced from over 90 hectares of vineyards in Bierzo. 20% comes from estate fruit in and around the village of Corullón. The rest is purchased from 180+ families with whom they have a long-term relationship. The vines range in age from 40 to 90 years old and are planted at varying elevation and varying slope. There are 3% of white grapes in the blend and 5% of red grapes other than Mencía (Alicante Bouschet, Gran Negro, Pan y Carne and Negreda).

2020 Vintage Notes by Wine Advocate 1/2022: "The 2020 vintage was warm and the wines quite forward, approachable and more delicate. The vintage is a little more fruit-driven, a vintage of sun, jovial and juicy and round with very fine, slightly powdery tannins. The fruit is darker than in the 2019s, but the wines are a lot fresher than everybody anticipated...But the wines are very aromatic, fluid and fresh and don't show heat, sun or excess ripening. They are soft, with a certain freshness (it's not 2013!), and they keep the tannin that was also found in 2019. The 2020 tannins are rounder, and 2019 and 2020 are the two most tannic vintages of the last few years."

Reviews

  • The Wine Advocate
    Rating: 93+ (1/31/2022)
    The regional red 2020 Pétalos comes from 90 hectares of vineyards, mainly from Corullón and Villafranca del Bierzo and the districts of Viariz, Hornija, Valtuille de Abajo and Otero. It mixes expositions, altitudes and soils and wants to paint a picture of Bierzo in the warm 2020 vintage. They reckon it's 92% Mencía with 5% other red grapes (Alicante Bouschet, Gran Negro, Pan y Carne and Negreda) and 3% whites (Valenciana, Jerez and Godello) with an average yield of 26 hectoliters per hectare. It has good ripeness with 14% alcohol (their upper limit) and moderate acidity at 4.6 grams (of tartaric acid). It's a little more fruit-driven, a vintage of sun, jovial and juicy, approachable and round with very fine, slightly powdery tannins. The fruit is darker than in the 2019. This is still young, and, as it happens with even the most approachable wines from the region, it should be even better in a couple of years. I tasted it again in mid-December, and the wine is showing better and better; time in bottle has done it some good, and the wine has settled and is getting more balanced. I don't feel the sun now; it's harmonious and more serious, juicy and tasty. A little better than anticipated.