Bodegas Mengoba Brezo Mencia

Bodegas Mengoba is owned and run by Gregory Perez who graduated from the school of Oenology in his hometown of Bordeaux, France before going on to work with Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Chateau Cos d’Estournel. Gregory had Bordeaux in his blood, but he was obsessed with the principals of terroir, biodiversity and organic viticulture which at the time, in the early noughties were not high on the agenda in Bordeaux. On the advice of a friend, Gregory relocated to the remote and relatively unknown northern Spanish region of Bierzo where he eventually established Bodegas Mengoba in 2007.

Production

The Mengoba winery is in the town of San Juan de Carracedo and the vineyards are located thirty minutes north around the town of Espanillo. This is an area characterised by steep, rugged, south facing slopes which sit at between 600-850m above sea level. Hot days and cool nights along with constant air currents help produce grapes of amazing freshness and complexity. Gregory has several vineyard plots, all with their unique terroir but all farmed organically and in keeping with the local ecosystem. Although Mencia and Godello are the two main grape varieties, Gregory is also keen to use lesser known local varieties like Dona Blanco and Alicante Bouschet (Garnacha Tintorera) along with Estaladina.

Tasting Notes

Bodegas Mengoba ‘Brezo’ Mencia is a beautiful example of the relatively unknown but high quality Mencia grape variety. The rich red fruit character shines through with notes of dark cherry, raspberry and forest fruits. There is a lovely spice note in the background, pepper and smoke which follow through to the finish, which is long, fresh and complex.

Delicious with pork, served as either traditional European recipes or more exotic Asian styled crispy pork belly.