red grape · regional staple
Mencía
northwest Spain
Say it
men·thee·ah
Castilian 'c' before 'í' = 'th' as in 'think'; Latin American Spanish renders it men-SEE-ah
On the palate
Body
medium
Acidity
high
Tannin
medium minus
Aromatics
pronounced
red cherryraspberryvioletgraphiteblack pepperthyme
How you spot it blind: intense violet florality with tart red cherry across all sites
The story
First written down · 1897, Lugo province, Spain
DNA trio analysis confirmed Mencía's parents are Alfrocheiro and Patorra, both indigenous Portuguese cultivars, proving it is genetically identical to Portugal's Jaen and unrelated to Cabernet Franc.
Family tree: Alfrocheiro × Patorra
Where it lives
Bierzo DO (Spain) · Ribeira Sacra DO (Spain) · Valdeorras DO (Spain) · Dão DO (Portugal, as Jaen)
Shows up as
still redroséBierzo DORibeira Sacra DO