2016 Dominio do Bibei Mencia Lacima

Full bottle 1,435 g. 68% Mencía, 22% Brancellao, 5% Mouraton, 5% Sousão. Vines at 300 to 700 m on steep slopes. The grapes were hand-harvested and sorted both in the vineyard and again once in the winery. The fruit was destemmed then macerated for two days. Fermentation took place using indigenous yeasts in open 500-litre French oak barrels with daily punchdowns. The wine was then transferred to 300-litre barrels where it underwent malolactic conversion. Lovely nose of sweet but not jammy redcurrant fruit and a strong grainy mineral element. Initially soft and gentle by now but with an undertow of freshness and marked light grainy tannins on the end after extreme juiciness. Very individual and very much of its 'heroic viticulture' origins. A serious wine that still has much to give. (JR)

The 2016 Lacima is a selection from different vineyards with specific soils that give a strong character to the wine, which is more austere and mineral. It feels more austere and backward than the Lalama from the same vintage, which I tasted next to it. It's a Mencía-based blend with fruit from old vines that delivered very expressive and balanced juice, and it fermented in open-top barrels and matured in used barriques for 17 months. It has fine, sophisticated tannins and a seamless mouthfeel. The nose is floral and expressive, elegant and nuanced, with detail and complexity. This is stunning. It has to be the finest vintage of Lacima to date—a vintage of great balance and freshness, with all it takes for a long and positive development in bottle. It should make old bones. Bravo! 4,790 bottles and 47 magnums were filled in June 2018.