Luna Beberide "Finca Luna Beberide" 2020 (Email Sale, Arrives 4/11)

Alcohol : 13,5%

Grape : Mencia

Localisation : Bierzo, Spain

Tasting Notes : Dark red, almost purple. Violet sheens.  Aromas of ripe red Furtos in the company of a notorious sweet chocolate hue with a slightly spicy background by the presence of pepper.  Is surrounded with good body and balanced acidity. The taste is fruity mostly, but has a dry finish, though extensive.  Wine perfectly accentuates the taste of game birds with mushroom or berry sauce, beef stew with vegetables, lamb with thyme and mushroom carpaccio. It also serves to pate, lobster salad with grapefruit and soft goat cheese.

93 points, The Wine Advocate: "The Finca Luna Beberide feels young and energetic. It has a nice combination of flowers, herbs, and wild berries with a faint touch of spicy oak after 10 months in barrel. This has to be one of the finest vintages for this wine. It has just been bottled, so I'd wait a little to pull the cork; give it time to polish the tannins. Following the new official classification of the wines from Bierzo, this is a Vino de Paraje from Valdetruchas in Villafranca del Bierzo. Best enjoyed between 2023-2027." – 93 points, The Wine Advocate, Luis Gutiérrez (January 2022)

The Domain: Alejandro Luna owns this moderately sized estate, which his father, Bernardo, founded in 1987. He came to work as director of the family winery in 2001. The winery's philosophy is to produce wines based on quality and respect for the land and the local grapes, Godello and Mencia.

70 hectares of vines are planted between 450 and 900 meters, on south-facing slopes in calcareous clay and decomposed slate. Vines range in age from 20 years to 70 years for Mencia. No herbicides or pesticides are used on the vineyards.

Winemaking starts with all grapes being hand harvested into 18-kilo boxes. Careful cluster sorting, eliminating unsound bunches, continues the push toward quality. All varietals are fermented separately with native yeasts prior to aging in oak barrels.