Michelini i Mufatto, 'A Merced', El Canto, Mencia, Bierzo, Spain, 2021

Overview of the Wine
Michelini i Mufatto is our family winery, it has its heart in Agrícola La Capiva, in Gualtallary, Uco Valley. We work a vineyard of 5.5 hectares at 1,550 meters high, in a cold climate that allows long and precise ripening. This place – marked by a strong presence of calcareous soils – gives us wines with tension, texture and a dry and persistent mineral character. Our quest is to interpret that landscape clearly, expressing purity, fineness and an identity deeply linked to this corner of the Andes.

We vinify in a respectful way, so that each plot speaks with its own voice. We divide the vineyard into different units according to the composition of its soil, understanding that there lives the complexity of the place. We work with fermentation in concrete and aging in barrels of 3 or more uses and steaks, always with the intention of preserving the energy and natural definition of the place. We are guided by fineness, but also a constant obsession with fine-tuning every detail and continuing to delve into the interpretation of La Captiva.

Winemakers
Andrea Mufatto and Gerardo Michelini

Grape / Blend
100% Mencia

Origin
Castilla León, Bierzo, Spain

Tasting Notes
"A Merced" is 100% Mencía sourced from the El Canto vineyard near the town of San Lorenzo. The fruit - which is all whole cluster - is partially crushed by foot, then fermented with native yeast in large oak casks and skin-macerated for five months; a year of aging in old French oak follows before bottling. The result of all this effort is an exhilarating wine that drinks like a cross between a Chateauneuf-du-Pape and a high elevation Napa Cabernet. There's a lot happening here: the nose is racy and enticing with ripe fruit and earthen notes, the palate is incredibly balanced with more dense fruit, florals and minerality, and the finish is long and refreshing. It's delicious stuff, guaranteed to satiate palates across a wide spectrum; it comes highly recommended. 

95 Points - Wine Advocate
The 2021 A Merced is surprisingly a little higher in alcohol than the 2020 I tasted next to it, despite the much cooler year. It fermented with 50% foot-trodden whole clusters in 1,000-liter oak casks with indigenous yeasts and a long maceration. It matured in used 225-liter French oak barrels for one year. It’s a little earthy but also floral and elegant, combining that wild side that seems to be inherent to this place, as I’ve noticed it in the last few vintages. It’s quite expressive and showy, very complete and balanced. 10,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2022.

Product size: 750ml