Mencia is starting to become noticed in restaurants since it’s so easy to pair, given concentrated notes of fruit that range into darker, nonorganic flavors. For example, while we find dark berries and plums up front in this wine, we’ll notice the finish veers toward cola, chocolate, and smoke. This style is similar to Burgundy, Rhone, and Northern Italy, but it's distinctive enough to remind us that nope, we’re in Spain. I like to recommend this grape as an alternative to Pinot Noir and Syrah since it is actually so similar, but it’s offbeat enough to make you appreciate it, and the former grapes, even more.