I've had mencía from elsewhere too, notably Ribeira Sacra. The only bad one I've had was probably just too old for what it was. Pretty big range of styles, it seems like. The one I've had most often - whose producer I now forget, of course - was definitely more on the light-and-crisp cru-Beaujolais side of things. This one is much richer, darker, and plummier.That's a new area to me. Good to know.
What was particularly notable about this bottle was the way the wine changed over a short amount of time - maybe a half hour. At first it seemed kind of fat and jammy and with sweet black cherry notes like a modern CdR. Then quickly the fruit brightened up with the raspberry / mint thing going. A little bit later a strong, bitter-herb amaro-like component emerged. Like some kind of bark - almost medicinal. Moxie or Dr. Pepper, maybe. Super interesting.
Okay, well, everything is an analogy with wine, right? So you can't be taking me too seriously with my half-in-the-bag terminology. However basically what I'm talking about is how much acid and tannin is balancing the ripe sweetness of the fruit, along with the alcohol that goes with that ripe fruit. -- Not just acid and tannin but whether it reminds me of citrus and minerals and mint (bright, high-toned) or black fruit and spices (dark, low-toned). You could call it treble vs. bass if you want. The more of one you have, the more you need some of the other to balance it out. These days, between the warming climate and winemakers' ambitions with regard to harvesting extra-ripe grapes, it's pretty common to get wine that is big and impressive on the first couple sips, but flags and becomes cloying after a little while longer because it doesn't really stimulate your palate; it just sits on it like Jabba the Hutt. This is the wine equivalent of what @mdf calls "the salt trick" in a restaurant.Tell me more about this "lift and brightness" stuff.
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