Nanclares y Prieto 2021 O Son Das Pisadas (Mencia)

O Son Das Pisadas is a unique expression of Mencia from a single parcel in the village of Cambados, nestled in an inlet on the Atlantic ocean. Mencia is rare here, as are red grapes in general, but trust Alberto and Silvia to find an tiny old parcel that was practically forgotten and make magic happen! As the illustration on the label depicts, Silvia and Alberto do the "danza galega" or Galician (Galego) dance on the grapes, with some stem inclusions and the wine is fermented and aged in used oak barrels for under a year before bottling. The "cruncy" descriptor is sometimes one that raises eyebrows ("what do you mean by crunchy??") but it seems apt for this wine, and to me always implies a combination of a certain type of rusticity with bright, vibrant red fruit. By the way, this wine just gets better with every vintage. If the 2020 was as beautiful as it was (and it was!), then given how special 2021 was, this should be a specatacular and fascinating wine.