Fontelas 2018

Another bottling also only sold in Spain is the 2018 Fontelas, which had not been produced since 2006. It comes from a plot in the San Martín zone that gets shadow very early in the afternoon. It's one of the few places with some 2% limestone, a very humid zone (the name comes from "fountain"). Two percent is very low, but it gives a dry and serious touch to the wine, a bit of a chalky sensation in the texture. It showcases the fragile balance between the juicy fruit, the moderate acidity, the austere stony feeling and the Mediterranean (warmer) and Atlantic. They have a lot of vineyards in this zone, and they only use a selection for this, but there is a lot of this in the Corullón bottling, perhaps 10% (and also in Pétalos). This is slightly different from the others; this is stricter, not as juicy and silky as the others, with a somewhat drier finish. It has pungent flavors, a little more Rhône-ish than the others, with lots of balance and seriousness, not as jovial as other Mencía can be, more Cornas than Burgundy. This will eventually be a Vino de Paraje. Only 800 bottles, 53 magnums and five double magnums were produced. This is different.