2016 Paixar - Mencia
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Tasting notes
Bright, violet color. Sexy, deeply perfumed blackberry, cola, floral oil and incense aromas pick up a smoky mineral quality as the wine opens up. Supple, seamless and alluringly sweet, offering palate-staining black/blue fruit liqueur flavors that are complemented by suggestions of vanilla, mocha and five-spice powder. Densely packed yet lively as well, finishing with outstanding clarity and smooth, harmonious tannins. (Aged for 16 months in new French oak barrels.)
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Average Score
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
The brooding and perfumed 2016 Paixar is a Mencía built to last, in what seems one of its freshest and more balanced vintages. This is produced with the grapes from high-altitude vineyards on slate soils, quite different from the majority of other vineyards worked by Luna Beberide. This cuvée is a joint venture with Alberto and Eduardo García from the Mauro winery in the Duero zone. There is concentration with great elegance; the oak is still there but in the process of being absorbed by the wine (and feels less obvious than in earlier vintages), and there is great citrus freshness (think blood oranges) and balance in the palate. This is spicy and peppery and can surely be drunk now with powerful food, but it should develop further complexity with more time in bottle. 8,000 bottles were filled in November 2018.
Very ripe and extracted for a Mencía, but why imitate reds from warmer regions when bright aromas and freshness are the hallmarks of this grape? Still, it should be good with food, due to the lively acidity.