The Auswine Forum

Now as i'm up for tasting different wines in comes a wine i've never heard of.
Mencia a grape only grown in Portugal/Spain i was told.
A very interesting wine being medium bodied with red fruit/strawberry flavours and average alcohol of 14.5%.The one i'm drinking is the 2018 Peique.
One could could say it's very close to Pinot but i could be wrong.
So for the more knowledgeble is there other brands worth trying?
Cheers Pete

Olivers Taranga in McLaren Vale are making a rose` from Mencia.

Some reading here:
[url]https://www.wineberserkers.com/t/tn-a-large- ... s/169836/2[/url]

Olivers Taranga have released a varietal Mencia (as opposed to the Rose mentioned above) in the past apparently, although I've not tried it. I'll have to seek some out!

I've tasted a few, and it feels like a variety to my tastes, albeit probably slighty lighter on the alc% to emphasise that fruit, and leaning into it's point of difference, that it's the opposite end of the scale to (e.g.) Penfolds full-bodied shiraz.

I'll recommend Martín Códax Bierzo Cuatro Pasos Black (there are two different coloured labels, and I forget the difference). About £15 in the UK, and with the amount I've seen around, I suspect production might be large enough to see it in Australia, and despite increased costs, might still be cheap enough to be worth trying. I wouldn't call it profound, but do see it as a good way to see if it's a style that would appeal. 13.5% alc for the 2021.

IIRC Raul Perez a big name producer
IIRC Bierzo and Ribeira Sacra are key regions

Hi again Pete

One of the Grenache producers I mentioned is Varney Wines from McLaren Vale and they released a Mencia in 2022 and again last year, so I got a bottle to try. My note for the 2023 said:
22/10/2023 Very rustic and grapey. Got better wirth air but probably still not my cup of tea.

Apparently Ned Godwin from Halliday thought the 2022 was pretty good. On the Varney Wines website his review says:
"The best iteration of Mencía in the country. Think cool-climate syrah in a more savoury, mellifluous guise, smattered with dried thyme, fennel and peppery tannins, a twine of attractive astringency. A sphere of blue-fruited succulence expands across a fullish girth with energy, drive, length and immense joy. Great drinking!" - 95 Points - Ned Goodwin MW

Hope this helps

Cheers

Michael

Thanks again for all the suggestions on the different producers.I've been doing some research on the variety
and in Australia it looks like there are about 13 different well known wine areas growing this grape across
various elevations.So the versitality could see this variety become the next big thing.Probably a big call i know.

Anyway i'm going to try a bottle from Olivers Taranga and Varneys to compare with the Peique.

Cheers
Pete