Ponte da Boga
Mencia 2023

This is 100% Mencía from the 2023 vintage, fermented with a light touch—10 days on skins with gentle pumpovers, followed by another 8 days of maceration. It’s aged in steel tanks for 6 months to preserve the purity of fruit. The nose is textbook Ribeira Sacra: violet, rose, cracked pepper, and damp earth. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied and bright, with flavors of sour cherry, blackberry, and subtle spice. Serve it just slightly chilled, around 15°C, and consider decanting to let it breathe. It’s a great match for grilled meats, oily fish like mackerel or sardines, or even octopus. 12% alcohol.

Adega Ponte da Boga is the oldest winery in Ribeira Sacra, founded in 1898 by the Fernández family with a bold idea: to bottle and sell wine from their own vines in a time when most growers sold grapes in bulk. The winery sits at the foot of Castro Caldelas, along the Edo River, a tributary of the Sil.

Winemaking in this region is not just difficult—it’s heroic. The steep canyon walls of the Sil River make harvesting a physical trial. Growers often wear harnesses to access vertiginous vineyard plots, and boats are used to ferry grapes across the river. Watching harvesters carry baskets up the slopes is to witness the sheer human effort behind each bottle. There’s an almost spiritual quality to it—an annual pilgrimage rooted in sacrifice and faith in the land.

The result of all this effort? Wines like this one—full of life, tension, and unmistakable character. The 2023 Mencía from Ponte da Boga is a beautiful expression of both grape and place, and a testament to the resilience of the people who make it.

Shaded garnet. Perfumed, floral and lightweight but not skinny. Great delivery from those precipitous slopes. Very good value. Score 17/20 Jancis Robinson, Nov 2024

A reductively flinty nose with some dried herbs, gooseberry leaf and oysters. Medium-bodied with chalky, fresh acidity and a saline, mouthwatering finish. Drink now. Score 91, James Suckling, July 2024