RED WINE

The 2015 Dominio Do Bibei blew my mind. It's is a blend of 80% Brancellao and 20% Mouratón from different vineyards, and it has a super elegant, aromatic and ethereal profile within the power and earthy character of the wines from the zone. This fermented and aged in barrels and had an extra élevage in 1,500-liter oak foudre, but the oak is perfectly and neatly folded into the wine, which is nuanced perfumed and really captivating. The palate also reveals great harmony and balance, good freshness and very fine tannins, and the way all of the elements seem to complement each other suggests that this is going to continue evolving slowly in bottle. A great Ribeira Sacra expressing the character through the traditional varieties of yesteryear. 2,021 bottles were filled in July 2017. LUIS GUTIERREZ

Algueira’s entry-level Mencía is drawn from the estate’s younger Mencía vines, which cling to Ribeira Sacra’s precipitous slate and schist slopes that rise from the river Sil. Where Algueira’s premium releases are whole bunch fermented and aged in oak, the grapes for this early release are destemmed and raised in stainless steel. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and saw 15 to 20 days of maceration. BIBENDUM

 

The 2020 Finca Capeliños comes from a warm year, but the grapes have been harvested earlier in recent years to achieve moderate alcohol and macerations have been shortened to get wines that are more elegant and harmonious. The 2020s are quite open and expressive, and the Capeliños displays impressive notes of violet pastille and a faintly Mediterranean note of aromatic herbs. (96) LUIS GUTIERREZ

This is from a plot planted with the classical field blend found in the old vineyards, mainly Mencía with a myriad of other varieties-Caíño, Sousón, Brancellao, Merenzao, Negreda, Garnacha, Mouratón... The full clusters fermented with indigenous yeasts, and the wine matured in 225- and 500-liter oak barrels for one year. This is explosive with a baroque, exotic and decadent nose redolent of flowers, soy sauce, violet pastille, spices and herbs. It's a little spirity (it's 14.2% alcohol), which probably adds to the showy profile. The palate is a little more backward-it's structured and has abundant, fine tannins, still a little hard. 800 bottles produced. (97+) LUIS GUTIERREZ

Comprising of almost all Mencía with just a dash of Tempranillo and Sousón, this expressive, light bodied wine captures the very essence of Ribeira Sacra, grown on slopes above the River Sil so vertiginous they can only be worked by hand. Flavours of blueberries, blackcurrants, and herbs with fresh, lifted acidity. BARRICA WINES