Bodegas Mengoba Godello Viejo 2021

Bodegas Mengoba Godello Viejo was quite a revelation when we first tried it. The wine has a unique, distinctive and complex fruit character which is subtle and continuously developing in the glass. The fruit is tropical and exotic with pineapple, passionfruit and citrus notes wonderfully combined with stone fruit and lychee. The wine is aged on its lees in large old wooden casks for six months with weekly battonage which enhances the texture and complex aromas of the wine. The grapes are sourced from three different vineyard locations all of which have a unique soil structure. This is a well thought out and perfectly executed wine that is unique and delicious.

Bodegas Mengoba is owned and run by Gregory Perez who graduated from the school of Oenology in his hometown of Bordeaux, France before going on to work with Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Chateau Cos d’Estournel. Gregory had Bordeaux in his blood, but he was obsessed with the principals of terroir, biodiversity and organic viticulture which at the time, in the early noughties were not high on the agenda in Bordeaux. On the advice of a friend, Gregory relocated to the remote and relatively unknown northern Spanish region of Bierzo where he eventually established Bodegas Mengoba in 2007.

The Mengoba winery is in the town of San Juan de Carracedo and the vineyards are located thirty minutes north around the town of Espanillo. This is an area characterised by steep, rugged, south facing slopes which sit at between 600-850m above sea level. Hot days and cool nights along with constant air currents help produce grapes of amazing freshness and complexity. Gregory has several vineyard plots, all with their unique terroir but all farmed organically and in keeping with the local ecosystem. Although Mencia and Godello are the two main grape varieties, Gregory is also keen to use lesser known local varieties like Dona Blanco and Alicante Bouschet (Garnacha Tintorera) along with Estaladina.