Drinks of the Month

Wine of the week: Maruxa Mencia 2019

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on August 14 2021 at 11:10

I’ve got a bit of a thing about mencia at the moment so this bottle really hit the spot and for under £10 (on Majestic’s mix six deal) it’s great value

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the grape variety mencia is a vibrant juicy cherry-flavoured red from the north of Spain you’ll love if you’re into Beaujolais, or fruitier styles of pinot noir (though it’s not quite as sweet). It’s made by one of the best known rioja producers, CVNE, and has a really cool label too.

It’s great, as I recently discovered, with steak fajitas but also with a lot of Spanish food as you can see from this post.

The best food pairings for mencia

It would be great with a barbecue too.

While you’re in Majestic - and from much the same area - pick up a couple of their Winemaker Series Godello from Monterrei. Again Godello is native to that part of Spain and is generally quite similar to chardonnay but this version, which is made by the Rias Baixas winer Martin Codax, has a lovely fresh citrusy acidity that should appeal if you like sauvignon blanc. (Note it was the 2019 I tasted - I haven’t tried the 2020 yet)

It should go well with seafood as I suggest here, beetroot-cured salmon, and, perhaps surprisingly, caesar salad.

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