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June 30, 2016

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Spanish reds take summer dining to new heights

SOLSTICE heat is enveloping us so it’s time for summer friendly dishes and wines. This week’s iDeal section introduces the delicious world of cold Chinese noodles. Delightful alone, these noodles become even yummier when accompanied by a glass of fresh wine.

In general, wines with plenty of lively fruitiness and good acidity make the best companion to light summer fare. This usually means opening a bottle of white, rose or sparkling wine. But you need not be limited to these lighter shades of color, there exist several styles of red wines that are perfect for the summer. Some of the best are the Mencia red wines of Northwest Spain.

Everything is fresher in the mountains, the air, the water and yes even the wines. Nearly a decade ago, I visited the mountainous winemaking regions of Northwest Spain. I vividly remember the breathtaking wild scenery, precipitous roads and delectable local cuisine. But, most of all, I remember the wonderful wines.

While the renowned Tempranillo red wines from Ribera del Duero and Toro lived up to their lofty reputations, the real surprises were the Mencia reds from Bierzo and the neighboring regions in Galicia. The elegant fruity exuberance, bright acidity and intriguing complexity of these wines made a lasting impression. Over the past decade Mencia reds have impressed many a wine lover and they’ve become one of the proud poster wines of Spain.

The Roman emperors and statesmen were particularly fond of Mencia red wines transporting them on ancient highways to the eternal city. Medieval monks continued to successfully cultivate the variety. Then in the 19th and 20th centuries a confluence of calamities including the devastating vine pest Phylloxera, economic depression, Spanish Civil War and World War II nearly ended the long and distinguished story of this grape. In the latter half of the 20th century, Mencia wines were made from mostly young vines in the flatter lowlands. These were insipid, inferior wines. Fortunately the story didn’t end there. Many old vines on the steep elevated hillsides that were abandoned by farmers actually survived despite being unattended.

In the 1990s several young Spanish winemakers saw potential in these old vines. As in Priorat in the Northeast of Spain these intrepid winemakers were not daunted by the difficultly of dealing with low-yield old vines situated on very steep slopes. Instead they lovingly cared for these centenarian vines that were among the oldest in Spain. Making fruity red wines in Spain has always been relatively easy. All you need is ripeness.

Today many connoisseurs believe old vine Mencia will become Spain’s next great red wine. The word Spanish wine experts use to describe these wines is “potential.” We already know they’re mighty fine red wines, but as the number of quality producers grows and the wines age will these wines truly achieve greatness? My guess is yes.

We can divide the Mencia wines of Northwest Spain into two styles, the lighter, brighter and fresher wines of Ribera Sacra and Valdeorras in Galicia and the more substantial, structured and rounder wines of Bierzo. Some wine connoisseurs analogously say that Galician Mencia wines resemble the Cabernet Franc wines of the Loire Valley, while the Bierzo Mencia wines are more reminiscent of the Cabernet Franc centric reds of Saint-Emilion.

No matter where in Spain they come from Mencia wines are rich in terpenoid aroma compounds sharing charming attributes of fresh red, blue and blank berries with floral notes. The bright fruity and floral aromas literally jump out of the glass. Most well made wines also have a healthy dose of minerality. All these qualities help made Mencia wines an impeccable summer red wine to enjoy with cold Chinese noodles or other summer fare. These wines are also quite nice by themselves as an afternoon quencher.

The good news is that you can actually find Mencia wines in Shanghai. The bad news is that the selection is still quite limited. Producers to look for include Martin Codex, El Castro, Licis, Pittacum Aurea and Lalama.

Mencia wines aren’t the only worthy red colored summer quencher. Young Burgundy Pinot Noirs are also lovely heat beaters. The basic Burgundy red wine is often called Bourgogne AC or Bourgogne Pinot Noir AC. These reasonably priced wines are made with Pinot Noir grapes that can come from anywhere within Burgundy. They tend to be the lightest and most affordable of red Burgundies and wonderful companions to lighter foods and snacks or can even be enjoyed by themselves. One step up in classification are the Villages level red Burgundies. These wines are also 100 percent Pinot Noir but come from a specific area in Burgundy. They are slightly more concentrated and complex than the Bourgogne AC reds but they still offer plenty of desirable fresh fruitiness. Unlike Mencia wines, young Burgundy Pinots are easy to find in Shanghai. Recommended domaines include Louis Jadot, Joseph Drouhin, Leroy and de Montille.

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