Ribeira Sacra

Spain
Bierzo
2018

65-80-year-old Mencia vines planted on granite and sand soil, located on south-facing slopes along the banks of the Mino River (320m elevation). Grapes are farmed organically, harvested by hand, and left 20% whole cluster. Crushed by foot, fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks, and aged for 13 months in used French Burgundy barrels.

94+ points
"I love the wines from Raúl Suárez’s Divina Clementia. Raúl’s Mencía vines range from sixty-five to eighty years of age, planted on granite and sandy soils in his organically-farmed terraces overlooking the Miño River. The wine includes twenty percent whole clusters, is fermented with native yeasts and raised in older Burgundy barrels for thirteen months prior to bottling. The 2018 version comes in at 13.5 percent octane and delivers a beautifully complex bouquet of pomegranate, black cherries, tree bark, graphite, a complex array of spice tones, stony minerality, a touch of pepper and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is pure, focused and full-bodied, with a superb core of fruit, great mineral undertow and grip, fine-grained tannins, tangy acids and impeccable balance on the long, complex and very refined finish. This is a great, great wine in the making. It deserves at least another five years in the cellar to further soften up its tannins more properly; it will age long and very gracefully. Stunning juice! 2028-2075."
John Gilman,
View from the Cellar
Issue 105
93 points
"The 2018 Divina Clementia feels a lot more balanced and complete than the 2019 I also tasted next to it. It was a slow-ripening year, and the wine has full development of aromas and flavors, a medium-bodied texture and power. It has taken well the two years it spent in barrel."
Luis Gutiérrez,
Wine Advocate
Spain: Galicia 2023–2024 Releases

SKU/Code: 
DB4280-18
Product Line: 
National Portfolio
Wine
Red
Varietal: 
Mencia
Farming Type: 
Organic