Mencía, known as Jaen in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

, is a

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Vit ...

native to the western part of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

. In Spain, it is planted on over , with another in neighboring Portugal. It is primarily found in the

Bierzo El Bierzo (; ; gl, O Bierzo) is a '' comarca'' in the province of León, Spain. Its capital is the town of Ponferrada. Other major towns are Bembibre and Villafranca del Bierzo, the historical capital. The territory of El Bierzo includes ...

Ribeira Sacra Ribeira Sacra is a Spanish Denominación de Origen, Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) (''Denominación de Orixe Protexida'' in Galician language, Galician) for wines located in the south of the province of Province of Lugo, Lugo and in the ...

Valdeorras Valdeorras is a comarca in the Galician Province of Ourense Ourense (in Spanish, ''Orense'') is a Spanish province, in the southeastern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Pontevedra to the west, ...

, Monterrei and Dão wine regions. Most wines produced from Mencía have traditionally been light, pale, relatively fragrant red wines for early consumption. This style of wine was the result of post-Phylloxera plantations on fertile plains, which tended to give high yields but diluted wine. In recent years, much more concentrated and complex wines have been produced by a new generation of winemakers, primarily from

old vine Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...

s growing on hillsides, often on

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...

soils, in combination with careful vineyard management. This has led to a renewed interest in Mencía and the denominaciones de origens using it, such as

, Monterrei and the little-known Liébana. Since the 1990s, the grape is increasing in popularity, and an increasing number of noted

Spanish wine Spanish wine () includes red, white, and sparkling wines produced throughout the country. Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain has over 1.2 million hectares (2.9 million acres) planted in wine grapes, making it the most widely ...

makers are now working with it.

Relationship to other grapes

It was once thought to be an ancient clone of

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. In addition to being use ...

, with which it shares some of its aromas, an impression which has been dispelled with

DNA profiling DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's DNA characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is called DNA barcoding. DNA profiling is a forensic t ...

. Instead, DNA profiling carried out by the Department of Vegetal Biology of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid has concluded that Mencía is identical to

's ''Jaen do Dão'' (or ''Jaen'' for short) grape variety. However, just recently it has been determined via microsatellite DNA fingerprinting analysis (a.k.a. DNA profiling) that, contrary to what was previously believed, Mencía (Jaén do Dão) likely originated in Portugal since it was the result of a crossing between Alfrocheiro and Patorra, two Portuguese red grape cultivars from the Dão and the Douro regions respectively.Grapevine cultivar 'Alfrocheiro' or 'Bruñal' plays a primary role in the relationship among Iberian grapevines. Cunha et al., Vitis 54 (Special Issue), 59–65 (2015).

Synonyms

Over the years, Mencía has been known under a variety of synonyms including: Fernao Pires Tinta, Giao, Jaen, Loureiro Tinto, Mencin, Negra, Negro, Mencia Roble, Tinto Mencia and Tinto Mollar.Mencia
,

Vitis International Variety Catalogue The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung G ...

, accessed on May 25th, 2014 It is known as Jaén colorado in León, not to be confused with

Jaén blanco Cayetana blanca, also known as Cayetana or Jaén, is a white Spanish wine grape. It is grown mainly in the south of Spain, especially in Extremadura and in the Jerez region where it is distilled for use in brandy production. J. Robinson ''Janc ...

Jaén rosado Cayetana blanca, also known as Cayetana or Jaén, is a white Spanish wine grape. It is grown mainly in the south of Spain, especially in Extremadura and in the Jerez region where it is distilled for use in brandy production. J. Robinson ''J ...

(both of which are variants of Cayetana) and

Jaén tinto Jaén may refer to: Places Peru *Jaén Province, Peru, a province in Cajamarca Region, Peru **Jaén District, one of twelve districts of the province Jaén in Peru ***Jaén, Peru, a city in Peru, capital of the Jaén Province Philippines *Jaen, ...

from

Huelva Huelva (, ) is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is between two short rias though has an outlying spur including nature reserve on the Gulf of Cádiz coast. The ria ...

References

{{Wines Red wine grape varieties Grape varieties of Spain Spanish wine Galicia (Spain)