A quick look through the 50 bottles of wine I have lying around at home brought a new awareness to your intrepid taster. I have been washed into a wine rut flowing with California Cabernet and Italian Brunello and French Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Clearly not only is this Century Club a quest but it is an enlightenment! Credit card, car keys, wine shop, home. This, my friends is going to be a lot more fun than I thought.Today's bottle is made from a varietal indigenous to Spain which I knew nothing about, made in a region I didn't know existed and by a wine maker who's name is surprisingly not in my Rolodex. The "Mencia" grape once thought to be related to Cabernet Franc has been released from any responsibility due to fairly recent DNA testing. It is finally its own fruit.
The 2005 Luna Beberide Mencia is a steal at $12. Falling back on what I know and love this wine hints at the elements that make my favorite wines great. A hint of a Cab's fruit, a dash of CDP's red meat and the flash of an aged Brunello's structure. It all dissolves smoothly but too rapidly. Great for a party, not so great for your cellar.
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