Old vines, new gambles

Mencia was once thought to be related to Pinot Noir because of its complexity and lilting acidity, then to Cabernet Franc because of the wine's intense, inky concentration. Today, it is simply assumed to have originated somewhere in Central Europe. "It's been in this region for a thousand years. Whatever it started out as, it's now considered unique to Bierzo," Zamotti says. That makes it the ultimate wine for those, including himself, whom Zamotti calls "wine geeks."

"We try all kinds of wines. And these are really interesting. Mencia has characteristics of both red Burgundy and cool-climate Syrah from the Rhone Valley, but it's its own thing -- soft tannins, snappy acidity, pleasing texture, fresh fruit."

Palacios, Bierzo's best-known winemaker, is the son of a venerable Rioja wine family and one of the original band of modern vintners in Spain's Priorat region near Barcelona. His single-vineyard Garnacha wine, L'Ermita, is that region's most critically praised. When his nephew, winemaker Ricardo Perez, suggested he visit Bierzo, a region with schistose soils, steep hillsides and old vines similar to those in Priorat, Palacios saw past the region's poverty and isolation and realized that its ancient vineyards could be an oenological treasure trove.

He immediately began buying and leasing Mencia vineyards and, with his nephew, transformed an old garage in the village of Villafranca into a winery. Palacios was intent on proving that Mencia wines could be as lilting and ethereal as fine Burgundy.

Skeptics in the Spanish wine industry dismissed the scheme as slightly insane. Sure, Palacios' old-vine Garnacha and Carinana wines from Priorat had earned critical raves and were terrific commercial successes. But Mencia? There is no history of quality wine from the Mencia grape being produced anywhere in the world. In Bierzo, its continuing cultivation was tied up with centuries-old traditions unchallenged in the economically depressed region. The mere mention of the awful plonk associated with the decrepit cooperatives in this long-ignored northwestern corner of Castilla y Leon made Spaniards elsewhere shudder.

Artisans are buying in

BUT, in the wake of Palacios' initial success, the rush is on to cultivate Mencia vineyards in Bierzo. Spain's large wine companies remain unconvinced of the area's potential, but artisan producers such as Dominio de Tares, Mariano Garcia's Paixar, Pago de Valdoneje, Eric Solomon's Cuatro Pasos and Luna Beberide as well as 50 other wineries have joined Palacios there. They're convinced that Bierzo can be the next Priorat -- another long-neglected region where old vines can be revived seemingly overnight and, with modern vinification, produce stunning, high-quality wines.