La Faraona is the rarest wine in Bierzo and one of the rarest in Spain, a fraction of a hectare of old Mencía high above Corullón, producing a few hundred bottles in a good year.
Tasting Notes
A deep violet robe. Aromas of crushed berries, violets and a touch of earth. On the palate, the finesse of red fruit, a pronounced minerality and a remarkable tension, all bound together by fine-grained tannins. Mencía at this level is closer in spirit to Burgundy than to the rest of Spain, built on perfume and line rather than weight, and the slate soils of the Corullón hillsides are what make that possible.
Quick Facts
- Grape: Mencía
- Origin: Spain, Bierzo, Corullón (slate soils, steep hillside)
- Style: Dry red, perfumed, mineral, tense, very rare
- Production: A tiny single vineyard bottling, made in minute quantity
Food Pairing
Slow cooked lamb, roast poultry, mushroom dishes, and medium cheeses. Nothing heavy enough to bury it.
Serving
Serve at 16°C. Decant forty minutes before pouring.
About the Producer
Descendientes de J. Palacios was founded in Bierzo in 1999 by Álvaro Palacios and his nephew Ricardo Pérez Palacios, who set out to do for Mencía what Álvaro had already done for Garnacha in Priorat. They farm old vines biodynamically on the steep slate hillsides around Corullón, and their single vineyard wines are among the most sought-after in Spain.