The Vivacious Reds of Ribeira Sacra and El Bierzo

BY JOAQUÍN HIDALGO | FEBRUARY 25, 2025

Mencía has the capacity to reflect subtle changes in soil and climate while magnifying winemaking approaches and styles, the same qualities that have made Pinot Noir popular and won so many fans for Malbec. The Mencías from the sub-region of Amandi, in Ribeira Sacra, are ripe and compact, while the flighty, floral Mencías of El Bierzo are another thing entirely. In between, one finds a diverse range of terroir-driven wines.  

Surprisingly, both Ribeira Sacra and Bierzo have similar climates. Both receive an annual rainfall of about 700 mm and experience similar temperatures as well. It’s the soils that are quite different. Ribeira Sacra has slopes rich in granite, slate and schists, a stony mix that produces rich wines while also necessitating that winegrowers watch their footing while out in the vineyard. Meanwhile, the gentler undulations and ridges of Bierzo have clay and calcareous soils that lend a different profile to Mencía. In both cases, one thing holds true: if Mencía is well-made, its original flavors and unique textures will make you eager to try more. This is a magical quality not found in many varieties.

In 2024, I headed up the Miño and Sil Rivers, hoping to pin down the bewitching essence I had detected in some of the Mencías I have come across in the past. I spent a few days in Ribeira Sacra and a few more in El Bierzo. This report features a total of 182 Mencías and a decent amount of Godellos (I’ll share some thoughts about this extremely distinctive white, but it was Mencía that brought me to the region). 

Amandi and Doade, in the Sil Canyon, offer spectacular views. Pedro Guímaro’s vineyard, planted within the past decade, features modern terraces on slate and schist soils.

The “Y” and “V” in Ribeira Sacra

Comprising about 2500 hectares under vine and home to 90 wineries, Ribeira Sacra occupies an elevated area between the provinces of Lugo and Ourense, where the Miño and Sil rivers come together to form a “Y” shape. Upstream along both rivers, one finds each arm of the Ribera Sacra. The epicenter is the town of Monforte de Lemos, located in the middle of the plateau. On the day of my arrival, I found that the town, which is now sleepier than it was in its glory days, was holding its annual wine festival. Featuring about 50 producers, the colorful summer event brought the streets to life.

The next day, standing at the foot of the Souto de Chao viewpoint overlooking the Sil, I noted the unusual nature of the southern arm of Ribeira Sacra: an outcropping nestled in between jagged peaks that is reminiscent of Macchu Picchu, with the next step 600 feet (180 meters) below, by the riverside. Some of the slopes in the Amandi sub-region are so steep that the bends in the roads, which were only constructed a few decades ago, require three-point turns to get around them. Before those roads, everything was brought up the slopes on your shoulders or the back of a mule.

Amandi (which encompasses several villages, from Doade to Bolmente) is the heart of the Sil Canyon: running from east to west, the river has cut a dark, slow-moving path since the construction of a dam in 1956. Before then, it roared downhill, carving a sharp V-shape through the granite and slate. These south-facing slopes, bathed in sunshine and rainwater that sustains lush forest, are home to hand-hewn socalcos (terraces) where vines are planted. As Pedro Guímaro remarked to me as we visited the Meixeman parcel, the walls here were built by “painfully choking up stone after stone.” Wherever you look, you see terraces.

It is precisely this sheer, heavy rock, along with the sunlight and exposure, that gives Mencía its local character: advanced ripeness with refined, grippy tannins and a compact texture in the mouth. Some producers, such as Algueira, Pedro Guímaro and Adega Damm, know their parcels well enough to achieve more precise profiles. Look out for the 2021 Guimaro Capeliños, 2022 Adega Damm Cardia Pombeiras Alta, and the 2017 Algueira Carravel, all of which received high scores in this report.

In the Chantada subzone, the Beade Bridge stands over the Miño River. Here, gentler slopes and granite soils yield red wines with a lighter profile.

The arm that runs up the Miño forms the other face of Ribeira Sacra. With gentler slopes and a more open landscape, the river runs north to south, meaning that the exposures are east and west. Chantada is the most famous area, and its Belesar bridge is a memorable landmark. Mencía from here is typically milder but just as ripe. Wines from this area that caught my attention include the 2021 Camino Empedrado and the 2021 Aba Solleira.

There are other sub-sections in the Ribeira, such as Quiroga-Bibei, and although the forests are continuous, the makeup of the soils can change subtly with shifting ratios of slate, schists and granite. Here, we’re close to the border with the Valdeorras DO, where Godello holds sway.