Phelan Farm Mencía 2023
HK$ 658.70
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Mencía was a particular highlight of the Phelan Farm lineup. It opens with a beautiful, layered, expressive nose of dried black fruits, dried flowers, cured meat, fresh herbs, black pepper and exotic spice aromas. The palate is wonderfully refined and ethereal in texture while displaying impressive saturation and power, considering its featherweight frame. The finish continues this high-wire balancing act with a decadent, profound conclusion of lavish, savory spice notes and weightless, intense black fruit flavors.
Features
Type of wine
Pairings
Style
Occasions
Winery
Size
Country
Region
Appellation
Alcohol
12.0%
Grapes
Serving
Between 14ºC and 16ºC
Winemaking
Fermented with indigenous yeasts and stems with 12 days of maceration in stainless steel tanks. Aged for 7 months in neutral toasted oak barrels. Bottled unfined, unfiltered and with no added sulphites.
Description
On the wild Pacific coast, where the sea mist hugs the hillsides and the soil seems to whisper stories of ancient geological times, Raj Parr found the perfect terrain for an idea that bordered on the improbable: winemaking Atlantic grapes on California's San Luis Obispo Coast. At Phelan Farm, his most personal project, there are no formulas or dogmas, just a fierce respect for the land and the conviction that wine should speak softly, but say it all.
Raj, a former star sommelier and authoritative voice of natural wine, abandoned the glitz of the big labels to sink his hands into the earth. In 2020, he planted vines of Mencía, a variety native to the Bierzo, in poor schist and granite soils, bathed by a cold, salty breeze more reminiscent of Galicia than California. The estate is certified biodynamic, and the vineyard is worked by hand, without herbicides, without invasive systems, with ground cover and animals grazing freely. Every decision here is deliberate, even the most radical ones, such as not watering the young plants, even if it means losing entire harvests.
Phelan Farm' s Mencía is thus a counter-intuitive expression: a Spanish grape planted in a cool climate, ripening slowly, developing vibrant acidity and elegant structure, a far cry from the variety's classic profile. It is a wine that seems to come from a secret corner of the world where the Atlantic kisses the Pacific.
Winemaking
The grapes are harvested by hand, cluster by cluster, in the early hours of the morning, in order to preserve the extreme freshness of the fruit. The bunches are not destemmed; they are vinified whole in open vats, with a gentle, almost meditative maceration that lasts only a few days. Fermentation starts spontaneously, with no added yeasts, and the wine is transferred to old neutral oak barrels, where it remains for about 9 months.
It is not clarified, it is not filtered, and the use of sulphur is minimal or nil, depending on the year. Each bottle of Phelan Farm Mencía is a direct portraitof the vineyard, without make-up, without special effects.
Taste
From the first contact with the glass, Phelan Farm Mencía is ethereal, more air than flesh. The fruit is subtle, just a whisper of wild cherry, blueberry and pomegranate, no sweetness, no weight. What dominates is a mineral sensation, pure and pungent, like a wet stone after a fine rain. There is something almost Japanese in its precision: green tea, sandalwood, a trace of cold smoke.
In the mouth it is like a mountain stream: agile, electric, with a sharp acidity that caresses rather than cuts. The tannins are very fine, barely a texture at the end of the palate, as if the wine wants to tiptoe through but leaves its mark all the same. As it breathes, nuances of hibiscus, wild raspberry, and a subtle briny note reminiscent of its marine origin appear.
Phelan Farm Mencía does not seek to please everyone. It is a wine for those who listen beyond the obvious, for those who understand that the essential does not need volume. It is a delicate hymn to the unexpected, an experiment with soul, a delicious rarity that neither imitates nor repeats.
Shipping to Hong Kong
Estimated transit time: 3 working days.
| Bottles | Price | Complete box |
|---|---|---|
| 1-5 bottles | HK$ 134.48 | 6 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 7-11 bottles | HK$ 134.48 | 12 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 13-17 bottles | HK$ 134.48 | 18 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 19-23 bottles | HK$ 134.48 | 24 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 25-29 bottles | HK$ 134.48 | 30 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 31-35 bottles | HK$ 134.48 | 36 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 37-41 bottles | HK$ 134.48 | 42 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 43-47 bottles | HK$ 134.48 | 48 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 49-53 bottles | HK$ 134.48 | 54 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 55-59 bottles | HK$ 134.48 | 60 bottles, Free shipping! |
