Why it matters
The producer
Hand harvesting and two grape selections set the cellar's starting point at Dominio de Tares. The winery is based in San Román de Bembibre in León and works with approximately 30 hectares across Bierzo, including vines between 40 and 90 years old. The producer focuses on Mencía and Godello. Cepas Viejas is its flagship red, while El Paisano de Tares brings red and white grapes into one field blend.
Dominio de Tares was founded in 2000 by a group of investors and wine enthusiasts. Rafael Somonte has overseen the wines since 2014 and has reduced oak influence in pursuit of a purer Mencía expression. Both the white and red wines have been fermented with indigenous yeasts since the 2007 vintage.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Lower Bierzo consists of gentle hills at 400 to 600 metres, with clay and loamy soils and multiple orientations. Upper Bierzo rises into a steep zone at 600 to 800 metres, where slate and shale soils dominate. Los Oteros lies above 800 metres between the Esla and Cea rivers, with sandy soils mixed with silt and limestone.
Purchased fruit comes from almost 30 small growers in Valtuille de Abajo and Villadecanes, while estate vineyards lie around San Román de Bembibre and Quilós. The Los Oteros work is centred on Prieto Picudo, including eight hectares of century old creeping vines at Pajares de los Oteros.
Wines to know
The range in view
El Paisano de Tares is the light red in the range. The 2024 is a red and white field blend made from 85 percent Mencía and 15 percent collectively from Palomino, Doña Blanca, Godello and Alicante. It is fermented with stems and uses old oak cubetos. Its profile is dry, light bodied and delicate.
Baltos is a young Mencía from 40 year old vines with four months of barrel ageing. Cepas Viejas is the flagship red, sourced from vines more than 60 years old and aged nine to 12 months in oak. The range places a short barrel aged Mencía beside a longer oak aged red, while El Paisano uses a field blend of red and white grapes.