Michelini i Mufatto

Photography and writing by Ted Vance.

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Michelini i Mufatto - 2021 Bierzo, ‘A Merced’

Price: $30.00
Size: 750ml
Availability: 

24+ in stock

Type of Wine: Red
Grape(s): 100% Mencia
Style: Mineral, Elegant and Aromatic

GROWER OVERVIEW

Argentine winemakers Gerardo Michelini and Andrea Mufatto, with their son Manu, transplanted their family viticultural ethos—Libertad, Fineza, Naturaleza—to Bierzo in 2015, settling in a 19th-century rock winery in Toral de Merayo after encouragement from local luminaries Raúl Pérez and César Marqués. They farm very old vines (most over 100 years) organically/biodynamically on steep to very steep clay, slate, and quartz parcels, and vinify with foot-treading, native yeasts, and short macerations, aging in clay amphorae, old foudres, and neutral oak/chestnut. The range runs from a village wine to paraje bottlings and culminates in terroir-driven, textural wines that favor tension over weight and place over polish.

VINEYARD DETAILS

A Merced is harvested from 110-year-old vines (2024) of 85% Mencía and 15% of Palomino, Garnacha Tintorera, and other varieties planted in loamy topsoil derived from slate and quartz over slate bedrock in San Lorenzo Village, Bierzo, at 500 meters on a steep north-facing slope.

CELLAR NOTES

A Merced is naturally fermented with 50% whole bunches for 15 days in steel and clay amphora without temperature control, with a light daily cap wetting. It’s then pressed and aged for two winters in old 225- and 500-liter French oak barrels, followed by a light filtration before bottling. Sulfites are added after ML and again at bottling.