Matilda Nieves - Mencia 2020 | Monsieur Touton Selection

Tasting notes

Cherry red wine with violet intensity of bright intensity. A beautifully balanced Mencía with raspberries and blackberries with light notes of licorice. Round and complex with soft touches of tannin providing a persistent finish.

Description

Matilda Nieves Mencía from Ribeira Sacra in Northwestern Spain is a Decanter “Best In show” and Top 50 worldwide from the 2021 Decanter World Wine Awards! In-stock and ready to ship, Touton is the exclusive US importer for Matilda Nieves. Ribeira Sacra is a trending region and gaining in popularity due to its recent accolades and supply shortages in other regions. It’s an ancient wine region with visually stunning, terraced vineyards carved into the steep slopes rising from its rivers. Round and complex this is a delicious wine at an incredible price.

Matilda Nieves Mencía is crafted by the prestigious Bodegas Rectoral de Amandi winery. Commissioned by the famous local artist Pablo Guerreo, "We try to transmit the magic and elegant spirit of Mencía from the Ribeira Sacra. The mystery of a territory where the forest is a constant presence." All grapes are hand-picked, macerated and fermented with native yeasts, in contact with the skin of the grape for 15-20 days in stainless steel tank. Stabilized and bottled, thus obtaining a wine rich in aromas and complexity.

The label features a wood fairy on her swing, surrounded by the idyllic forests of the Ribeira Sacra, she leaves behind a tail of flavors evoking the unmistakable nuances of Mencía. The wine is named after one of the founder’s granddaughters, Manolo Arnoya, and made at the Rectoral de Amandi winery.

Estate

Bodegas Rectoral de Amandi has more than 130 hectares of vineyards distributed on terraces in the sub-areas of Amandi, Quiroga and A Peroxa. This geographic complexity favors the existence of a climate marked by high temperatures in summer and mild in winter with little rainfall, and which allows the vines to receive as much sunlight as possible. The estate is a benchmark throughout the D.O. of Ribeira Sacra, for its quality and international recognition. Mencía is the name of the variety of red grape most cultivated in the D.O. Ribera Sacra from the time of Ancient Rome. It grows in small, compact clusters, with medium-sized berries, an intense blue color and thick skin. It allows the production of very aromatic and fruity wines, with an intense color, and with aging possibilities.

Vineyard

The soil and the characteristics of the land are the most important qualities that highlight the essence of the Ribeira Sacra and that make the difference of our Mencía wines. In some cases the vineyards can be found on the hills with an inclination of more than 40% and bounding on the river, that is the reason why all grapes are hand-picked. The whole process is known as "heroic winemaking", as the wines of this D.O. are classified as originating from mountains with steep slopes, which must be climbed for hours once the grapes have ripened and are ready for harvesting.

In the vineyards, the cultivation and care of the vines is maintained in a traditional way due to the diffculties of the terrain, a herd of sheep is in charge of keeping the vineyard clean, they freely graze between the vines without damaging them, fertilizing the terrain and keeping it clean in a much more environmentally friendly way than any machinery and avoiding artificial fertilizers. Furthermore, in all the vineyards we have meteorological stations and temperature sensors that provide us with information that allows us to anticipate the appearance of fungal diseases and reduce the use of phytosanitary treatments, that is, only when the risk of disease is very high.

Spain

Galicia

Ribera Sacra