Luna Beberide Mencia

"This is always a champion in its category...Ideal for the table." —
Luis Gutiérrez, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Appellation
Bierzo D.O.
Grape(s)
100% Mencia, from estate gown vines averaging 30-years-old
Altitude/Soil
725-775 meters / calcareous clay
Farming Methods
Practicing organic, Vegan
Harvest
Hand harvested into small boxes; Late September/ early October
Production
Fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks
Aging
Aged for a few months in stainless steel tanks prior to bottling, no oak.
Suggested Retail Price
$19
Wine Name
Scores
Downloads
Reviews
Luna Beberide Mencia 2015
91 (VfC) 90 (RP) 89 (W&S) ** (WP)
Score Publication Review Copy
91 View from the Cellar The 2015 Mencía from Bodegas Luna Beberide is their entry level bottling and fermented and raised entirely in stainless steel prior to bottling. The bouquet of the new vintage is still a touch youthfully reductive and needs a touch of air to blossom, after which it offers up a fine constellation of dark berries, grilled meats, espresso, slate, graphite and a topnote of beautiful spice tones and lavender. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and complex, with a lovely core, fine focus and balance, modest tannins and a long, tangy and complex finish. This is a beautiful bottle of Bierzo Mencía, with the clay and limestone soils here giving the wine fine mid-palate amplitude and fine soil signature. This is a great value, as it is seventeen dollars a bottle here in the US! 2017-2035.
90 The Wine Advocate The entry-level red is the 2015 Mencía, an unoaked, fresh, young and fleshy red. This is always a champion in its category showing intense aromas of balsamic herbs, even a touch of mint, ripe blackberries, dark cherries and a juicy, chewy palate with very fine tannins. Ideal for the table. 150,000 bottles produced.
Issue 224, April 2016
89 Wine & Spirits Magazine With its spark of red fruit, this mencía has a bright freshness. The structure is tight and firm, but acidity makes it juicy and easy to drink.
August 2016
** The Washington Post Score: ** Stars (Excellent)
The mencia grape of northwestern Spain produces wine that resembles cabernet franc, with smoky white pepper and Bing cherries. Give this beauty a slight chill and pair it with burgers off the grill. ABV: 13.5 percent.
June 24, 2017
Copy All Reviews
Luna Beberide Mencia 2016
91 (VfC) 90+ (RP) 90 (IWR) 89 (W&S) 88 (WS)
Score Publication Review Copy
91 View from the Cellar I have been very impressed with the quality of the straight Mencía bottling from Bodegas Luna Beberide in the last few vintages and the 2016 is again, an excellent wine and a superb value. As readers may recall, this is the entry level bottling from the bodegas and is raised solelyin stainless steel tanks. The 2016 offers up a fine and impressively complex nose of pomegranate, dark berries, graphite, cola, a fine base of soil tones, a bit of roasted meats, wild fennel and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and marvelously transparent, with a good core, tangy acids and fine focus and grip on the moderately tannic, complex and classy finish. This is still priced well under twenty dollars a bottle and is a stunning bargain. Buy it by the case, as it will age beautifully! 2018-2040.
Issue #75 – May/June 2018
90+ The Wine Advocate Following the good line I saw last year, the 2016 Mencía, a young, unoaked bottling, showed plenty of varietal character, with clean aromas, focused flavors and good balance and freshness. 150,000 bottles produced. Drink Date 2017 - 2020.
Issue 232, August 2017
90 International Wine Report The 2016 Luna Beberide Bierzo is a really well-made wine which was sourced from 40 year old Mencia vines. Right at the start the wine yields some heady red and dark fruit aromatics. As it continues to build in the glass, blue fruits come into play alongside red cherry, cranberry and a touch of blood orange on the palate. Silky and smooth on the mouth, and showing some bright, mouth-watering acidity, this excellent value will be best enjoyed in the next five to seven years.
June 2018
89 Wine & Spirits Magazine Refreshing and nervy in acidity and in tart red fruits, this is a tense and vivid wine that’s easy to drink on a hot summer day. Chill it down to emphasize those red fruits and then pour it with grilled tuna.
Best Buy - August 2018 Issue
88 Wine Spectator This supple red is focused and lively, offering fresh flavors of cherry and strawberry backed by hints of vanilla, with leafy and minty notes. Fresh, citrusy acidity and light tannins give this structure. Drink now through 2022.
Copy All Reviews
Luna Beberide Mencia 2018
91 (RP) 91 (VM)
Score Publication Review Copy
91 The Wine Advocate The 2018 Mencía was also bottled at the time of my visit to Bierzo in December 2018, and I was surprised at how well the wine was showing just a few days after being bottled. It's young, dark, juicy and fleshy, with good bones and nice acidity to support them, with clean flavors. This is really pleasant, fruit-driven and straightforward, and light in alcohol. This was bottled completely unoaked. 150,000 bottles produced.
Drink Date2019 - 2022
Issue 241; February 28, 2019
91 Vinous Media Deep ruby. Spice- and mineral-accented cherry and dark berries show very good energy and focus. Blackberry, bitter cherry and licorice on the palate, along with suggestions of dark chocolate and violet. Opens up slowly with air and finishes very long and floral with smooth, even tannins and lingering florality.
Drink 2020-2025
Spain’s Northern Regions Keep it Cool – March 2019
Jancis Robinson.com Luna Beberide M Mencía 2018 Bierzo is a great example of the aromatic, fruity charms of the variety at a very decent price...Deep, quite dark crimson. Some of the pure zest and lift of this grape variety on the nose. Beautiful balance – no oak gets in the way of the varietal expression. This would be a great teaching aid. Persists right to the end of the palate. Excellent freshness while not being remotely wimpy. Very good value.
Wine of the Week - 11/22/2019
Copy All Reviews
Luna Beberide Mencia 2019
92 (I-WR) 90 (RP) 90 (VM) 90 (WRO) 90 (VfC)
Score Publication Review Copy
92 International Wine Review The Mencia “M” is a fresh and delicious wine of 100% Mencia. It is dark ruby in color, fragrant and lush on the palate. Easy drinking, it offers ripe concentrated dark berry fruit flavors, soft, round and silky tannins and a persistent finish. Well done.
Issue #84 - March/April 2021
90 The Wine Advocate The pure and unoaked 2019 Mencía is the essence of licorice, wild berries and flowers with an herbal twist. It's juicy, tasty, clean and expressive. It comes from a vineyard in the Valdetruchas paraje. This is a great introduction to the grape and region, reliable and a great value. 150,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2019.
Issue #249 - June 2020
90 Vinous Media Dark violet. Black raspberry, cherry and floral aromas show fine definition and take on a spicy nuance with air. Juicy and open-knit, showing good depth to the bitter cherry and dark berry flavors. Dusty tannins frame a long, subtly smoky finish that echoes the cherry and floral notes. 2021 – 2027
Josh Raynolds – June 17, 2021 Atlantic Spain: It’s Always About the Weather…
90 Wine Review Online "Always among the most delicious and versatile wines I taste each year for fewer than $20, this performs very well again in the 2019 vintage. Medium-bodied, it offers more flavor impact than one would expect based on its weight, which is one of the keys to its versatility with food — or without food, as a stand-alone sipper. The fruit aromas and flavors recall red berries and black cherries with subtle savory accents, and the finish is freshened by nicely balanced acidity that never turns tart. This will pair up beautifully with anything from grilled fish to poultry dishes or lighter meats like pork or veal, and even with spicy lamb or beef dishes."
Michael Franz – August 10, 2021
90 View from the Cellar The Mencia bottling from Bodegas Luna Beberide is made from vines that range from thirty to forty years of age, grown on clay and limestone soils. This cuvee is fermented and raised entirely in stainless steel and comes in at 13.5 percent octane in 2019. The bouquet wafts from the glass in a youthfully complex blend of dark berries, cassis, tree bark, bonfire, a touch of fresh thyme, dark soil tones and chicory. On the palate the wine is bright, fullish and tangy, with a good core, moderate tannins and lovely length and grip on the complex finish. This is a touch reductive when first opened, so if you are inclined to drink it in its youth, then decant it for fifteen or twenty minutes before serving. Despite its modest price tag, it will age very nicely, and I would be inclined to give it at least a few years of bottle age and really let it blossom properly. It is an outstanding value! 2021-2045+.
John Gilman - Issue #91 / February 2021
Copy All Reviews
Luna Beberide Mencia 2020
92 (VfC) 89 (WE)
Score Publication Review Copy
92 View from the Cellar The 2020 Mencía bottling from Bodegas Luna Beberide comes in again at 13.5 percent octane this year, the same as was the case with the lovely 2019 version. Readers may recall that this wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts and raised entirely in stainless steel, with the vines ranging from thirty to forty-plus years of age. The 2020 version is again just a touch reductive when first opened (as was the 2019), but a bit of swirling in the glass allows it to open up nicely to reveal scents of sweet dark berries, pomegranate, coffee bean, a lovely base of dark soil tones, graphite and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and vibrant, with lovely, sappy mid-palate depth, good soil signature, fine-grained tannins and a long, complex and beautifully balanced finish. This is excellent juice and a stunning value at $19 per bottle here in the US! 2026-2055.
John Gilman – Issue 98 March/April 2022
89 Wine Enthusiast The color of blueberry pie, this wine has aromas of cassis, cherry and tomato leaf. It offers a mélange of savory and fruit flavors, including raspberry, pomegranate, dried Mediterranean herbs and clove. It starts off bright and then grippy tannins make their presence known before washing away into a cranberry-tinged finish.
Mike Desimone - August/September 2022 Issue
Copy All Reviews
Luna Beberide Mencia 2021
92 (VfC) 91+ (RP) 90 (OB) 89 (WRO)
Score Publication Review Copy
92 View from the Cellar The 2021 Mencía Luna Beberide arrived just before I finished up this article, and it was a most welcome late arrival to the remaining pile of Spanish wine samples. The wine is a touch cooler in profile than the fine 2020 version, tipping the scales at thirteen percent alcohol and delivering a beautifully refined bouquet of cassis, pomegranate, lead pencil, a complex foundation of soil elements, hints of tree bark and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied and beautifully soil-driven, with a superb core of fruit, tangy acids, fine focus and balance, fine-grained tannins and a long, complex finish. This is more tightly-knit than the 2020 version was out of the blocks, but every bit as high in quality and once again, a superb value. 2028-2055.
John Gilman – Issue 98 March/April 2022
91+ The Wine Advocate The young red 2021 Mencía is juicy and explosive, floral and showy, produced with the grapes from the valley on clay soils with less stones that express very clearly what the variety is. It doesn't have great complexity, but it's delicious, pleasant, varietal and easy to drink. It fermented in stainless steel tanks without adding any type of yeast. The maceration is short, and so is the aging in tank. It's only 12.9% alcohol and has very good acidity. 125,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2021. 2022-2025
Luis Gutiérrez – January 2022
90 OwenBargreen.com The really good ‘M’ offers juicy strawberry and red cherry notes alongside tiled soils on the palate. Fresh and inviting, with loads of lively acidity, enjoy now. Drink 2023-2029-
Owen Bargreen - October, 2023
89 Wine Review Online If the Mencía grape variety is new to you, you’ll need to change that, and this wine provides an excellent place to start. The variety has been essentially landlocked for centuries, and has only recently entered the flow of global wine commerce, but it can make indisputably wonderful wines in a fairly broad range of styles. This is a very fresh and simple rendition made from fruit that’s barely been off the vines for half a year. Uncomplicated by oak, it is juicy and bright, with red berry notes predominating on the palate, with energetic acidity driving the finish.
Michael Franz – April 5, 2022
Copy All Reviews
Luna Beberide Mencia 2022
92 (VfC) 91 (RP)
Score Publication Review Copy
92 View from the Cellar The 2022 Mencía bottling from Luna Beberide is composed from vines that are all at least forty years of age, planted in a combination of clay and slate. The wine is beautifully expressive already on the nose, wafting from the glass in a mix of dark berries, pomegranate, tree bark, coffee bean, dark soil tones and a topnote of cigar smoke. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and sappy at the core, with fine soil signature and grip, ripe, buried tannins, fine focus and a long, complex and beautifully balanced finish. This is already quite tasty, but will be even better if given a handful of years in the cellar to allow its tannins to soften up a bit more and its secondary layers of complexity to emerge. As always, first class juice and a stellar bargain! 2023-2055+.
John Gilman - Issue #105 May/June 2023.
91 The Wine Advocate The young unoaked red 2022 Mencía is juicy and fruit-driven with floral and herbal notes, good ripeness, 13% alcohol, very fine tannins and a soft mouthfeel. It fermented in stainless steel vats with indigenous yeasts, where it matured until bottling. 90,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2023. The Luna Beberide family has been producing modern Bierzo wines since 1988. They work over 50 hectares of vineyards and bottle around 150,000 bottles per year. Paixar was one of the first icons from Bierzo.
Luis Gutierrez – The Wine Advocate August 10, 2023
Copy All Reviews

Share this wine

Rate this wine

Have you tasted this wine?
Feel free to add your notes and rating.

Vivino Delectable Cellar Tracker