The Petra Merino winery triumphs with its Mencía red wine and Meóriga once again accredits the oenological excellence of the native Albarín and Prieto Picudo grape varieties

Two great gold medals for excellence and five more gold medals certify the quality of the wines endorsed by the Regulatory Council of the León Designation of Origin, which continue to triumph in the major international competitions in an outstanding start to the season for the wines produced in the wine-growing region of the south of the province and the north of Valladolid.

The most generous harvest was collected at the International Wine and Sparkling Wine Competition (Cinve) by the Meóriga winery (Mayorga de Campos), which enriches its magnificent list of winners, also this year, with a great gold medal for the white Esencia 33 made from the Albarín grape variety and three more gold medals, two of them for the rosés Esencia 33 and Tiramulos, both made from Prieto Picudo. The third award was won by another Tiramulos, also a rosé, but in this case a blend of Prieto Picudo (90%) and Albarín (10%), the two reference grapes for the León Designation of Origin.

For its part, the Petra Merino winery (Grajal de Campos) has established itself on the list of award-winning winemakers by repeating the success of 2024 with a new great gold medal for its Negro de viña red wine at the International Awards Virtus de Lisboa-2025 (VIRTUS),the great Portuguese competition which, year after year, continues to gain participation and prestige at a European level. The highest award for this Mencía of very limited production, which is mainly bottled in magnum format, is ‘not only a source of personal pride’ for its authors, Petra Merino and the artist Cveto Marsic, but also ‘an example of the potential of our land and of what can emerge when old vines are cultivated with respect, when they are made with precision and when time is allowed to play its part’. It is also the evidence that ‘from a small, independent winery, deeply linked to its origins, it is possible to make extraordinary wines without great structures, only with truth, care and coherence’.

These high awards bring to twenty-two the number of medals won by DO León wines (two Grand Gold, seventeen Gold and three Silver) in the first and most prestigious international wine competitions so far this season -Catavinum World Wine&Spirits Competition, Concours International de Lyon, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles and Bacchus International Wine Competition, as well as the aforementioned International Virtus Awards in Lisbon and Cinve Awards – and confirm the excellent organoleptic qualities and the extraordinary oenological potential of the vinifications made from the indigenous varieties that are the flagship of the wine-growing territory in the south of the province of León and the north of Valladolid: Albarín in the case of whites and Prieto Picudo for rosés and reds accredited and certified by the Regulatory Council.