As Galician red wines from the Mencía grape have become more popular, so has the go-to descriptor of these wines as being comparable to Loire Valley Cabernet Franc. I really don’t see it that way. If you want to name a French analog for Galician Mencía, I’d choose Côte-Rôtie or Cru Beaujolais—for me, it kind of feels like a hybrid of the two. 
Galicia’s steep riverside terraces evoke those of Côte-Rôtie, as do its granitic soils, which are also found in many big-name villages of Beaujolais. But it’s not just the terroir that prompts these comparisons—it’s the wines. Today’s lively, mineral-etched red from the Ribeira Sacra DO would not be out of place in a Beaujolais cru like Fleurie, but, Spanish-French comparisons aside, Benito Santos has crafted an inexpensive red wine that perfectly captures its place of origin: aromatic, energetic, brightly fruited, and of course, underpinned by mineral soil character. It’s one of those light reds of consequence, easy to drink but memorable, juicy but tactile (and sneakily serious). My first thought when I tasted this wine was that I wanted a case of it for my next barbecue. My second thought was that there’s more genuinely great wine to be had at the low end of the price spectrum than ever before. We’ve got it made!
Today’s mouthwatering 2017 is 100% Mencía, harvested by hand in small, 25-pound picking bins. Once in the winery it is destemmed, gently pressed, and left to macerate for just over a week before fermentation and aging in stainless steel tanks. In the glass, the wine shows a pretty, dark ruby color nearing purple at the core and hinting at magenta around the edges. Aromas of wild berries, red currants, and fresh, just-picked wildflowers find cold forest floor notes; on the palate, the wine shows medium-plus body, lively and exotic spices tones with a lot of tension and freshness. With extremely ripe blueberry and boysenberry notes, there’s an impression of fruit sweetness, but the wine is bone dry, and it affects the palate like a Cru Beaujolais or Northern Rhône Cru, with great grip and an impressive thread of crushed stone and liquid slate minerality. Serve with a slight chill (55 degrees) and pair it with one of my favorite Spanish recipes: Asturian pork and beans stew. This is the perfect wine to stash away for the inevitable onset of cool autumn weekend days and eventual cold winter nights.