Pazo do Mar Monterrei Alma de Autor Mencia-Arauxa 2022

 

 

Elegant red wine from Galicia. Bright red in color, intense aroma with ripe red fruit, vanilla, oak, and spicy, smoky nuances. The flavor structure is fresh on the start, juicy and evolving with light tannins in the aromatic finish. Excellent with moderately spicy grilled or oven-baked dishes.

 

Manuel Mendez, with his light-colored red Alma de Autor, produces a beautiful Galician wine with the finesse so characteristic of Atlantic winemaking in northern Spain. Although still relatively unknown, Monterrei is a rapidly emerging appellation in Galicia with high-altitude vineyards.

Nearly 70% of the production is white wine, but here, on the border between Atlantic and Mediterranean influences, the potential for quality red wine is promising. Manuel demonstrates this. For his Alma de Autor, he selects approximately 60% mencía and 40% arauxa (the local name for tempranillo) from a plot of 50-year-old vines.

The grapes are hand-picked only in the second week of October, then briefly macerated with the skins and fermented using the "wild" yeasts found on the grape skins, among other places. The wine then matures for 12 months in small French and American oak barrels.

Alma de Autor has the finesse of a good Pinot Noir or Spätburgunder, its aroma and flavor are enticing, and it exudes a pleasant freshness. It pairs beautifully with grilled meat and oven-baked chicken, but also tastes delicious on its own, outside of a meal.