D. Ventura Vina do Burato 2020
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Blend: 90% Mencía, 10% Merenzao
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Wine & Spirits
Bright and ripe, this mencía includes 10 percent merenzao, grown by Ramón Losada at a parcel on the Miño River planted more than 80 years ago. It tastes like harvesting sweet cherries—the flesh cool and luscious, their skins still resistant. Underneath the fruit, the tannins shift from slatey to spicy. Ali Berlin of South Egremont Spirit Shoppe was intrigued by how the wine “changed from beginning to middle to end, and the finish is forever.”
Other Vintages
2016-
Wine &
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Wine &
Spirits
One of the most stunning landscapes in Spain is located in the heart of Galicia, in an area known as the Ribeira Sacra, or Sacred Banks, as the region houses the largest concentration of Romanesque churches and monasteries in Europe due to the expansion by religious orders in the Middle Ages. Access to the region is through driving on the N-120 which snakes between Villafranca del Bierzo and Ourense, following the river Sil as it cuts through gorgeous canyons terraced with unforgettable, steeply-terraced vineyards.
D. Ventura is the soft-spoken Ramón Losada and his family, who farm 6ha of old vines to make small amounts of single-vineyard wine in one of the most remote wine regions in the world, Ribeira Sacra. Ramón is the picture of a humble farmer, with his full-time job as the village veterinarian consuming whatever time is left after tending to his vines. He even finds a little time to raise a rare heritage breed of Galician pig, from which he makes incredible sausages to keep the breed going. In 1999, he and his sister Belen refurbished the cellar in the ancient family farmhouse in Pantón and began bottling and selling their wines, which until then were for self-consumption.
Ever since the Romans inhabited the area, people have been growing grapes on the steep terraces lining the two rivers, the Sil and the Miño, which form the heart of the denomination. Working these vineyards is extremely difficult labor, as the terraces in some areas are so steep that the grapes have to be brought up to the top of the road on a motorized lift. All farming is done by hand in a very ancestral manner. Whole bunches of grapes are hand-harvested, the selection is done in the vineyard. From there the grapes go directly into a de-stemmer where they are crushed and go straight into the fermentation vat undergoing a spontaneous, wild-yeast fermentation in stainless steel. There is no new oak at the winery and the wines are aged in stainless steel from 6-9 months before being bottled to make way for the new harvest. This is uncomplicated winemaking with absolutely no makeup and a focus on capturing the purity of each vineyard and vintage.
Primarily found in the Bierzo, Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras regions of Spain and in the Dão of Portugal (where it is called Jaen), Mencia is an early ripening, low acid grape that can produce wines of great concentration, complexity and ageability. And yet Mencia once suffered from a poor reputation and deemed capable of producing simple and light red wines. Post-phylloxera growers would grow this variety on low, fertile plains, which produced high yields and uncomplicated finished wines. Somm Secret—The recent rediscovery of the ancient, abandoned vines planted on rugged hillsides of deep schist has unveiled the potential of Mencia and added discredit to its old reputation.
Located in the center of the Galician region in northern Spain, the Ribeira Sacra is one of Spain's most beautiful vineyard areas with stunningly breathtaking views. Vines are planted in the steep valleys and precipitous gorges of the Rivers Miño and Sil that wind through Galicia's lush green countryside. The Ribeira Sacra region has similar dramatic landscapes as the Mosel or Douro Valleys, but a more sparse population and a tranquility unmatched. The region gained official DO status in 1996.
Both white wine and red wine production are dominated by blends of local Galician grapes, with varietal wines being the exception. Today, while the region has seen some consolidation and modern stainless-steel equipment is widespread, winemaking remains artisanal. This reflects the tiny landholdings and farmhouse wineries, along with a traditional and predominantly organic approach to viticulture. With such low yields and often minuscule production levels, these wines are highly sought-after and can be difficult to find on the export market.
Ribeira Sacra DO’s principal white grape varieties tend to be highly fragrant and include Albariño, Doña Blanca, Godello, Loureira, Torrontés and Treixadura. Principal red grape varieties here include Mencía, Brancellao, Merenzao, Caiño, Sousón and Tempranillo.