2022 Cepado Mencía

2022 Cepado Mencía

I really wanted to enjoy this wine, the new vintage of the young Cepado Mencia 2022, a wine produced by Adega O Cepado under the D.O. Valdeorras.

It is probably one of the young wines that I like the most every year within the profile of young red wines without barrel aging. I must have been tasting it for 5 or 6 vintages and it always has a very interesting capacity to surprise me, since here the oak ageing does not give it personality, but rather the characteristics of the grape year after year, with its changing weather conditions, which make the grape contributions and, therefore the wine, different every year.

A single varietal Mencía that, despite not having been aged in barrels as I mentioned, the good work of the lees and the different grapes, make each year leaves a surprise in its tasting and always excellent.

Garnet in a still glass, this year perhaps with a slightly lower layer than in previous vintages but this allows it to show some violet reflections in movement of great youth and a slight bluish touch, really surprising and attractive. Very bright and clean.

High intensity on the nose, with lots of red fruit, a slightly ripe touch, a touch of black fruit, floral notes, some balsamic, with a great earthy-mineral charge, very representative of the Valdeorras terroir. Great complexity without the need for oak.

Very fresh attack. Great acidity that helps it show great structure. Lots of fruit. Present tannin that gives it great character. A tasty passage, with a medium volume on the palate, which shows both wine and elegance. A union of freshness and complexity that I love every year (good lees work is noticeable). Very good persistence and a fairly long finish.

If you are expecting a typical young wine, you are wrong. This Cepado Mencía 2022 is a young wine with great personality. Its ageing capacity is much higher than usual in young red wines, so it is ready to drink now and without problems in two or three years.

After tasting, it is a wine that is spectacular, both for drinking and for pairings, since the freshness of the grape helps a lot with dishes that can be strong, such as some meats or stews.

For these reasons, after tasting, it deserves the rating of Excellent, reaching a score of 92 points.