Although the D.O. Valdeorras is a region known for its spectacular whites made from the Godello grape, the last few years have witnessed the emergence of a few reds created from Mencía whose quality has earned them international recognition. Take, for example, Cune Mencía 2022, a red produced for export by the important CVNE group that’s sold exclusively by Vinoselección in Spain.
Consumption features
Serving temperature
Consumption time
General features
Type of wine
Region
Grape variety
100% Mencía
Type of barrel
500-litre French oak barrels
Barrel aging time
9 months
Capacity (cl)
75
Total acidity (g/l)
5.20
Volatile acidity (g/l)
0.45
Sugar
1.5
pH
3.65
Alcohol content (% vol.)
13
General Information
Cune Mencía 2022 is a red that reflects its origins, the expressiveness of the Mencía variety and the characteristics of the Valdeorras area. It was aged for 9 months in 500-litre French oak barrels.
The Virgen del Galir winery dates back to 2002 and was founded by José Barros García. The most important opinion leaders have acknowledged its work – for instance Robert Parker, who in 2009 included one of its Godellos among the top 100 Spanish wines for under €25. The important Rioja-based CVNE group acquired this firm in 2017 to give decisive impetus to its rise to the forefront of the Galician wine scene.
Virgen del Galir is based in Entoma, in O Barco de Valdeorras, to the east of the province of Ourense, and its vineyards grow on terraces with a 40-degree slope at an altitude of more than 600 metres. It produces reds from the Mencía variety and whites from Godello.
Cune Mencía 2022 (D.O. Valdeorras) pairs perfectly with breaded veal cutlets or meat and wild mushroom risotto.
The winery
The origin of the winery Virgen del Galir (2002) is entirely family-based: it was founded by José Barros García who, together with his son David, has championed for years the magic of Valdeorras wines, both those made from godello and the -rarer- reds from mencía. The excellent work of the Barros family (in 2009 Robert Parker included one of their godellos in the top 100 best Spanish white wines under €25 and awarded it 90 points) caught the attention of the CVNE Group, which acquired the winery in 2017 with the aim of giving it the definitive push towards the pinnacle of Galician wines.
The Virgen del Galir winery is located in Éntoma, in O Barco de Valdeorras, in the eastern part of the province of Ourense. There it has 40 hectares of vineyards planted on terraces at over 600 m altitude, some of them old and inherited from previous generations of the Barros family.