Most people who know the name Mencia have Raul Perez to thank. Few winemakers in history have had such a transformative impact on their wine region. Before Raul left his family winery in Valtuille, Northeastern Spain’s Bierzo district was hardly known at all, and whatever wine did find its way out of Spain was heavy, oaky wine from the river valley, made in the image of Priorat. Raul Perez knew the Mencia grape was capable of much more. He grew up among the high country vineyards in the mountains of Bierzo, nearly abandoned ancient vines digging through slate and granite and shale, some more than a century old, exposed to wind and frosty nights at elevation. When he started making wine from these vineyards, the renaissance of Bierzo began. Wines like this Saint Jacques cuvee, with soaring aromas of juicy black cherry and blood orange, smoked sage, white pepper and brambly underbrush. Mencia is a powerfully flavored grape – showing cranberry, raspberry and orange, with a faint touch of organic earth and gravel that lingers on the finish – but this wine stands alone because of its texture, ethereal elegance with tannins made of pure satin. Pair this to paella with hare and chorizo, to tuna steaks, and large parties whose guests have diverse palates.