The single-vineyard 2021 Finca Meixeman, produced with the grapes from one of the oldest family vineyards with soils of granite and slate, showed superb. It's perfumed, subtle and ethereal, light to medium-bodied but with lots of energy and light. It's 70% Mencía with 30% other grapes and achieved a moderate 13% alcohol in this cooler and rainier year whose freshness is reflected in the wine here. It fermented with 65% full clusters and had a 50-day maceration, then it aged in used 225- and 500-liter French oak barrels for 10 to 12 months. 8,000 bottles were produced. It was bottled in June 2023.

I tasted the 2019s and 2020s from all the single vineyards, which made for a very interesting comparison. The 2020 Finca Meixeman has the ripest sensation among the 2020 single-vineyard wines, even if they all have similar alcohol levels (around 14% when the 2019s are approximately 13%) but still quite fresh and balanced. There are notes of soy sauce, decayed flowers, dry herbs (esparto grass) and a faint lactic touch. It has abundant fine-grained tannins and is a little more Mediterranean. It matured in 225- and 500-liter oak barrels. 6,500 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2022.

The single-vineyard 2019 Finca Meixeman comes from one of their oldest vineyards, planted with a field blend of 80% Mencía and 20% Brancellao, Merenzao, Garnacha, Mouratón, Negreda and Sousón. It has an austere nose that benefitted from being in the glass for over one hour, so decanting in advance might be a good idea if you are going to pull the cork any time soon. It has subtle notes of violets and wild berries and herbs. It has 13% alcohol but, despite that, feels a little riper than the other 2019s, perhaps more approachable and gourmand. There are some 8,000 bottles. It was bottled in February 2021.

The 2018 Finca Meixeman comes from one of their oldest vineyards and was produced with the varietal blend in the vineyard—80% Mencía and 20% Brancellao, Merenzao, Garnacha, Mouratón, Negreda and Sousón. Most of the reds from 2018 are 13% alcohol, which is lower than in the past and achieved through picking earlier. It fermented with 55% full clusters in closed vats, with a total maceration time of 50 days. It spent six months in 5,000-liter oak vats and then was transferred to used 225- and 500-liter French oak barrels for malolactic and 12 to 13 months aging. This is serious and a little closed, more in the direction of the Capeli?os than the Pombeiras. But the palate is impressive, very complete, harmonious, pungent and vibrant. 2018 was a return to the style after a catastrophic 2016 vintage with hail and the 2017 vintage when the vines were recovering. This is from the lower part of A Ponte, with granite and slate soils, and it's a little more powerful. It's really impressive, one of the finest. There are around 7,000 bottles of this. It was bottled in April 2020. No 2016 was bottled, like most of the wines from that year, when they were hit by a big hailstorm.

For some reason, I missed the 2017 Finca Meixeman when I tasted the other single-vineyard reds from that year, so I took the opportunity to taste it now so that you have a note about it in our database. The big hailstorm that exploded above the Guímaro vineyards in 2016 not only destroyed that year's crop, but also damaged the plants, which didn't fully recover until 2018. This felt a bit reductive and needed time to breath and open up, so decanting it in advance might be a good idea. It's an earthier wine than the 2018 (comparisons wit the 2018s are tough for any other vintage!), with more iron-like aromas of blood and rusty nails. The palate reveals some austerity and dusty tannins, clearly in need of food.