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2022 Michelini i Mufatto En El Camino Mencia (750ml)

Mencia from Bierzo, Spain

B-21 Top Recommendation
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Andrea Mufatto and Gerardo Michelini are fashioning some of the brightest boutique gems in the Argentine wine scene, and since they branched out to Spain's Bierzo region a few years back, they've made quite the mark there too, as evidenced by a mountain of consistent, glowing acclaim from Wine Advocate's Luis Gutierrez, as well as 2024 Winemaker of the Year honors from Tim Atkin, MW.

This set of spectacular new releases showcases their incredible touch with the native Mencia varietal, putting them on par with the region's most notable luminaries, like Raúl Pérez and Descendientes de Jose Palacios. The entry-level 2022 En El Camino is the perfect introduction to this must-know producer, a WA92+ charmer that offers a classic Mencia marriage of dark red fruit, stony slate minerality, and bright structural freshness, each of its 50-year-old vineyard components playing its best-suited role in the finished blend. Stepping up to the single-vineyard wines, the 2021 A Merced is easily one of the best hidden-gem collectibles in Spanish wine. The El Canto vineyard's northerly exporsure, slate/quartz soils, and 80-year-old vines endow the 2021 with an unmistakable terroir signature. As Gutierrez describes it, "It's a little earthy but also floral and elegant, combining that wild side that seems to be inherent to this place," praise which garnered 95 points, all at a sub-$30 price tag. Finally, the micro-production 2021 Encrucijada comes from the 80-year-old Alto de Valdecañada site, notching 97 points from Gutierrez, who dubs it "fresh, tightly wound, very tasty and fine, with elegant tannins. It has to be the most elegant and balanced vintage of Encrucijada so far."

We're confident in saying this is one of the most intriguing, under-the-radar projects in Spain right now, and these three must-try showstoppers demonstrate the range and precision that Michelini i Mufatto bring to the table. If you're looking for a rising star that still offers tremendous bang for the buck, you've found it in this trio of singular Spanish standouts.

92WA

I also tasted two vintages of their village red, but in this case it was already 2022 and 2021. 2022 was also a warm year, extremely dry, with a very torrid summer, but they managed to keep the alcohol level of the 2022 En el Camino to the same 12.5% as the 2021 I tasted next to it. Furthermore, there might have been some blocking in the plants, as the alcohol didn't go up and the acidity was kept. It's very primary and innocent. It's 90% Mencía with 10% other grapes like Palomino, Doña Blanca and Alicante Bouschet, fermented with 30% full clusters and a short maceration. Fifty percent of the wine matured in oak casks and the other 50% in stainless steel for a period of a little less than one year. 30,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2023.

92+ points, Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate (Aug 2023)

Alcohol By Volume: 12.50%

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$16.98

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