Descendientes de J. Palacios, Mencia "Pétalos" Bierzo, Castilla Y Leon, Spain 2021

A delicious, dark-fruited, and mineral-infused red.

Winemaker Ricardo Perez is Spain’s foremost expert on Biodynamics, and his winery's entry level wine Pétalos is perhaps the most difficult wine they make. In 2001, they decided to produce an “everyday Bierzo” that could showcase the unique Mencia varietal, but at a more affordable price point. For this wine, they combined their estate vineyards in Corullòn with some purchased grapes from other parts of the region. They saw this patchwork of vineyards for this wine sort of like the petals on a flower, so they decided to call the wine Pétalos.

The vineyards used in Pétalos include estate vineyards and rented vineyards in and around the village of Corullòn. The vines range in age from 40-90 years old. The soil is mostly schist sites mixed with about 30% from clay.

Harvesting is all done by hand. The estate vineyards are farmed biodynamically, and all winemaking is done biodynamically as well. The wine is fermented in large oak fermentors with punch down. Maceration for about 25 days. No fining.

Pétalos ages for a few weeks in new French oak barriques followed by 6-10 months in 2nd and 3rd passage barrels.