Michelini i Mufatto 2020 'A Merced' Mencia, Bierzo

Michelini i Mufatto 2020 'A Merced' Mencia, Bierzo

Item Number: 18234

UPC: 8-437020633192

Country: Spain
Region: Castilla y Leon
Sub Region: Bierzo
Appellation/AVA: Bierzo DO
Estate Grown Wine: Yes
Vintage: 2020
Grape(s): 100% Mencia
Type: Wine - Red
Bottle Size: 750 ml
Pack: 12
Closure: Cork
Alc by Vol(%): 13
Viticulture: Practicing Organic
Soil Type: Schist, slate and quartz

Vine Age: 80-year-old goblet-pruned vineyards
Farming: Organic with biodynamic principles
Harvest: Manual

Winemaking Notes: Grapes are foot-treaded (pigeage à pied). 100% whole clusters are fermented with native yeast in clay amphorae through gentle maceration, neither carrying out pressing nor pumping over techniques. A five-month maceration in contact with the pomace and pulp is followed by an eight-month aging in used French barrels.

About Bierzo: The Bierzo D.O. was established in 1989. Today there are only 74 commercial wineries in the region, and not all export to the USA. There are 5,800 acres under vines, which are fragmented tiny plots of old vines on steep hillside and hilltop locations. Mencia makes up around 75% of all plantings. The soils are primarily slate and granite on the slopes with sand and clay near the valley floor. The appellation is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean while protected from extreme weather by the Leon and Cantabrian mountain ranges.

Reviews

  • The Wine Advocate
    Rating: 93 (8/10/2023)
    The 2020 A Merced was produced with grapes from north-facing vineyards in Ponferrada on slate and quartz soils. It fermented with 50% full clusters and matured in used 225-liter French oak barrels for 12 months. It has 13% alcohol and is a little more generous and rounder than the more angular and slim 2021. It feels more Mediterranean than the 2021, with a wild twist, notes of leather, ink and licorice, a touch of cured meat and some dusty tannins.