Wine of the week
Viruxe 2021 (Adega Pedro Méndez)
Variety: Mencía
ABV: 11%
Region: Val do Salnés (Galicia)
€26.00
Available from: Juncal Alimentación
Back in 1964 when Bob Dylan was on his infamous New York to San Francisco road trip via NOLA, enthusing about the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail, someone took it upon themself to plant Mencía in a small plot in the Val do Salnés.
Sixty years later, in a land once dominated by red varieties such as Caiño, Espadeiro and Loureiro tinto, the Salnés is now recognised around the world as the cradle of Albariño in Spain. The times certainly have changed!
The Méndez surname carries some serious weight in this area. Those already familiar with the work of Rodrigo Méndez (Forjas del Salnés) and Albariño pioneer Gerardo Méndez (Do Ferreiro) should definitely seek out the beautifully crafted wines of their cousin Pedro.
Working from a small cellar overlooking the summer resort of Sanxenxo, Pedro not only leads you through a fascinating tasting of Albariño in its multiple guises but also the Salnés Valley reds which are finally getting some long-overdue attention from international wine writers and critics.
Viruxe in the Galician language means a particularly virulent wind. Those used to Mencías from Ribeira Sacra or El Bierzo will be surprised by the lithe, coastal expression of the grape. It’s leaner, with a beguiling nose of almost ripe red berries, black olive and menthol/balsamic notes of eucaplyptus and bay leaf. In the mouth it’s surprisingly silky, considering the characteristics of the plot, mainly xabre or decomposed granite.
Pedro carries out a manual selection of grapes on the vine, after which they’re foot trodden followed by a gentle manual press. Alcoholic fermentation and subsequent ageing is in French oak barrels for a period of approximately nine months before transferring to a stainless steel vat for a further two months. After filtering, a moderate dose of SO2 is finally added before bottling.
This really is the Atlantic grinning in your face, perfect for marmitako of tuna, baked oily fish such as large horse mackerel (jurel), Atlantic pomfret (japuta) in tomato sauce and of course, spice-laden rock fish gumbos if they’re your thing.