Val Do Galir Mencía 2022
Mencía: the other side of the D.O. Valdeorras
The aromatic richness is one of the main identity traits of Val Do Galir Mencía 2022, the most emblematic red wine of the Valdeorras winery, owned by CVNE, Virgen del Galir. A red wine that originates from a selection of small Mencía plots located on terraces, aged for 9 months in French oak barrels.
Consumption features
Serving temperature
General features
Type of wine
Region
Grape variety
Type of barrel
500-liter French oak barrels
Type of bottle
Burgundy Bottle
Barrel aging time
9 months
Capacity (cl)
75
Total acidity (g/l)
5.7
Volatile acidity (g/l)
0.6
pH
3.5
Alcohol content (% vol.)
13
General Information
Valdeorras is a land known for its spectacular white godello wines, but in recent years it has also seen the emergence of high-quality red wines made from mencía, gaining more and more followers. A good example of this is Val Do Galir Mencía 2022, a single-varietal produced in the winery that the CVNE group owns in this Galician region: Virgen del Galir. Born from a selection of plots that the winery has on terraces since 1998, in the municipality of Éntoma (Ourense), it is a red wine that captivates with its good quality-price ratio.
These are plots with a southern orientation on the upper part of the terraces, at about 500 m altitude, on deep slate soils; where sustainable viticulture is practiced. After a manual harvest in 15 kg boxes, the fruits fermented with native yeast and the production process was aimed at achieving the maximum expression of primary aromas. Finally, the wine matured 9 months in French oak barrels.
Virgen del Galir came onto the scene in 2002 as a family winery created by José Barros García. The work of the Barros family achieved recognition from the most influential international critics; as an example, in 2009 Robert Parker included one of their godello whites in the 'Top 100' of the best Spanish whites for less than 25 €.
The CVNE group acquired the firm in 2017 and gave it the definitive boost to the top of Galician wines. Virgen del Galir is located in Éntoma, in the east of the province of Ourense, in a valley of the Galir river, where it has 40 hectares of vineyard divided into small plots at more than 600 m altitude; some of them old and inherited from previous generations of the Barros family. The wines are crafted under the guidance of the prestigious winemaker Jorge Navascués, also the winemaker of the Rioja winery Contino.
Previously called Pagos del Galir Mencía, Val Do Galir Mencía 2022 is a wine belonging to the D.O. Valdeorras that pairs perfectly with meats like grilled Iberian pork shoulder, and also with spoon dishes like verdinas
Creators' opinion
Val Do Galir Mencía is a red wine with an intense color. It presents a great concentration of red fruits where black fruits predominate and evolves into spicy, fresh, and balsamic notes. On the palate, it is balanced, broad, with dense tannins characterized by enormous complexity. Fresh, intense, and balsamic, its long persistence is driven by its prominent acidity.
The winery
Habla is one of the most advanced wineries in our country, responsible for elevating the wines of Extremadura to the highest level and erasing at a stroke the dubious reputation of the wines from this region. Its modern facilities and vineyard (200 hectares divided into plots) are located on an estate in the town of Trujillo, with shallow soils composed of slate and granite, good texture, and low fertility, which, together with the continental climate, favor optimal ripening and limited yields.
Bodegas Habla has introduced various innovations in the region both in the vineyard, where it is committed to ecological practices, and in winemaking. For instance, in the vineyard, it has implemented cover crops between the cultivation rows to control erosion, prevent nutritional depletion, and avoid the environmental impact of herbicides and CO2 emissions from tractors; it also employs the shade policy: arranging vegetation on the trellises in a shaded manner, ensuring slightly cooler ripening conditions and addressing the issue of excessive warmth. Additionally, it follows very strict traceability for each of the plots.
As for winemaking, it is committed to minimal intervention, allowing the typicity of the region, the character of the grape varieties, and the complement of French oak to define the style. This way, they create wines of excellent character and typicity, easy to drink, and notable for their original aesthetics.