Paixar, Bierzo (Castilla y León, Spain) Mencía 2013

 Paixar is one of the handful of truly great expressions of Mencía from Bierzo.  That won’t mean a lot to many consumers, but those who have a passable inventory of tasting experiences with these amazing wines will know that this means Paixar is among the best wines of Spain, and thereby among the great wines of the world.  The first vintage was 2001, and every release has been terrific–including 2002, which was an exceedingly un-promising growing season.  This wine from 2013 is also from a vintage that nobody in Bierzo has much good to say about (I spent a week there in May), but I’ll be damned if this isn’t yet another killer edition of Paixar.  It seems a little tight and woody right after the cork is pulled, but blooms gradually over the course of three hours into something increasingly gorgeous.  The aromatic notes include subtle suggestions of toast, spices and cedar, followed by flavors recalling black cherry, pomegranate and black raspberry.  Mineral notes are initially rather muted, but they become increasingly prominent as the wine opens with airing, ultimately becoming as prominent as fruit in the wine’s very long finish.  There’s plenty of acidity to keep the whole package fresh, and the proportionality and integration of tannin, fruit and wood is clearly outstanding.  What is ultimately most impressive, though, it the persistent minerality in the finish, which makes this seem like a wine born more of rocks than of grapes.  Indisputably terrific–as usual.