Bierzo

Bierzo is the benchmark home of Mencía: a fragrant, medium-bodied red from a sheltered mountain basin in north-west Spain's province of León, grown on steep slate and quartzite hillsides in a cool, Atlantic-brushed climate. It trades power for perfume and freshness — red cherry, violet and graphite over a mineral, slaty backbone and fine, savoury tannin — and, from old bush-vine parcels, gains real depth and the capacity to age.