BODEGAS PITTACUM, AUREA, MENCIA 6 Bottle Case 75cl

100% Mencia, single vineyard, natural yeast, old fashioned wine making, rich, complex and full bodied. The winery is located in Arganza, a town of longstanding vine-growing and wine-making heritage, nestled in the beautifully hilly landscape of the Bierzo region.

Bierzo, made with the Mencia grape, is sourced from 100 year-old vineyards, located on poor slate soils which carefully force the process of ripening. Organic fertilisers are used and green practices are employed throughout the vineyard to ensure the health of the vines. The wines of Pittacum are fermented with the wild yeast and hardly any intervention is employed, save for a little pumping over of the juice and then some sulphur at bottling.

This is their top wine with great ageing potential, expressive, spicy with fruit and wood notes nicely balanced. Great with lamb chops. The Aurea is from a single 1-hectare vineyard called Areixola located on an east-facing hillside slope with a particular microclimate favouring the production of aromatic Mencias. After a fifteen-day maceration period the grapes receive a smooth pressing. A further malolactic fermentation in new French barrels is followed by three months batonnage and ageing in new oak for 14 months.

The wine is clarified with egg whites, but left unfiltered. The Aurea has intense, expressive aromas: not only mature notes of roasted fruits (black cherries, sweet figs), toffee and cocoa, but also herbal notes such as rosemary and lemongrass. Dense in the mouth, but exceedingly elegant with smooth tannins, great balance and roundness. A very long finish and a complex aftertaste, very fruity with harmonious roasted and toasted flavours again apparent. For such a rich wine this is amazingly delicious.