'Pétalos' Mencía 2021

Pétalos is the regional expression of Mencias from Bierzo. It’s mainly mountain mineral material from Corullon fruit (including de-classified material from the single vineyards), plus 20% high quality gear from clay hill-slope sites below Corullon. Aged 12 months in large older French oak (1-6 years old), it’s a great, accessible encapsulation of the DJP Mencia package. It is drawn from nearly 900 plots in the region - 200 owned by Ricardo and Alvaro, and the rest leased from 175 growers.

Gently made in order to preserve acidity (the first and last consideration when handling Mencia), there are 5 days of gentle pigeage, with little pumping over. Depending on the year, DJP retain as much as 50% of the stems if they are suitably ripe. Maceration takes place for a month or so in a very cool cellar, with malo in tank before ageing in barrel.

Petalos leads with lashings of complex florals: field herb, dried sage, red lavender, violet, pepper tree and rose. There’s fresh clay dirt, lissom red plum and sour cherry fruits: earthy and bright, it sums Mencia and Bierzo perfectly. The palate has nicely moderated fruit plushness in a choc-blackberry register. Petalos is soft, open, round, pretty and fresh with nice slick-but-earthy tannins and smoky minerals.