A Master of Wine Talks about Mencia in Oregon

Join Chad and Bree Stock, MS for an insightful conversation about the characteristics of Mencia grape varieties. Discover the aroma of Mencia, and how it compares to other grape varieties. Learn about the exciting and distinctive wine produced from Mencia, and the unique challenges and opportunities of working with this grape variety in the cellar. This is a must-watch for anyone interested in wine or the art of winemaking.

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We talk about aromatic white varieties, okay Riesling versus a non-aromatic grape variety like Pinot Blanc. And in the red world, I don’t feel like that’s a conversation. I don’t feel like there’s a discussion around, oh, aromatic red grape varieties and more neutral, aromatic red varieties. And what happened organically was this experience of smelling and tasting our Mencia post the fermentation, but then us describing to our friends what the fermentation was like and the rollercoaster that we went through, and how aromatic it was, and how you could smell it inside the entire winery. And it was everything from violets to bay leaves to paprika to, I mean, just like, the range of the aromatics coming from these fermentations was so dynamic. It was unlike anything we’d ever seen. And it organically brought out this conversation essentially of like, oh my god, is this an aromatic red grape variety?

There was a sensory connection for me when I first visited the Willamette Valley to my time in Galicia and Bierzo and Ribeira Sacra. And so, I was compelled to continue to try to pursue Mencia in the Willamette Valley. We had an opportunity to have it planted on this very volcanic, rocky hilltop. It’s surrounded by cedars and Doug firs and pines.

The four selections of clonal material that are planted in that two-acre parcel all reflect very different characteristics. It’s probably one of the most exciting blocks that we have. And the Mencia that we’ve had two vintages over, so we’re really just getting to know it still. And when we’re tasting the fruit in the vineyard, it almost is a reflection of how it presents in the fermenter and then into the finished wine. And there’s very few grape varieties that we work with where we can see the wine character and wine style when we’re tasting it in the vineyard. And so for us, that’s a really compelling and exciting wine and a compelling and exciting grape for the region.

We have been playing around with how we work with Mencia in the cellar. Obviously, once these four clones come into full production, we’ll start fermenting the clones separately and getting an understanding of each clonal selection. But for now, we’ve been trying to look at how we work with the tannin profiles, being that they are quite intense rustic tannins. It’s not a strongly acidic grape variety. So we’re also looking at how we can bring some freshness and manage pH in certain blocks to the profile as well. And whether that’s by, you know, we’ve included white grape macerations in that which helps to hold the vibrancy of the color and also bring some lift to the fruit profile. And then also just varying levels of fermentation length before we press to take it down to barrel. So there’s a lot to play with, and it’s going to be a long journey with this grape variety. But from the outset, it’s made distinctive wine, it’s made a high-quality wine, and it’s a very unique wine. And so for us, that high quality and uniqueness is sort of the culmination of what we want to be bringing.