Antoine Graillot & Raúl Pérez ‘Encinas’ Mencía - Bierzo, Spain
A fascinating Rhône-meets-Bierzo collaboration, ‘Encinas’ is all about purity, tension and quiet depth, opening with lifted red cherry, raspberry and wild strawberry, layered with savoury notes of dried herbs, smoked meat and a subtle earthy, ferrous edge. There’s a distinctive freshness here - very much a cool, Atlantic-influenced expression of Mencía - balanced by a gently meaty, almost Syrah-like nuance. The palate is medium-bodied and finely structured, with bright acidity and chalky tannins framing a core of crunchy red fruit, finishing long, savoury and lightly smoky.
Sourced from old vines across clay and schist soils in Bierzo, the wine is de-stemmed and fermented in concrete (a Graillot hallmark), then aged in large oak foudres to build texture without overt oak flavour. This combination of techniques from both winemakers gives the wine its signature balance of precision and depth, leaning more towards structure and terroir than overt fruitiness.
Grape Variety: Mencía
Style: Red – Medium-bodied, fresh, structured
Drink Window: Now – 7+ years
Perfect For: Roast poultry, duck, mushrooms, game, herb-led dishes
A beautifully composed, cross-cultural Mencía - elegant, savoury and quietly complex, with a foot in both the Northern Rhône and north-west Spain.
