Rectoral do Umia is located in the Val do Salnés region, one of the five subzones of the appellation, which is considered as the birth place of Rias Baixas. The rugged coastline is known to be the coolest and dampest of the region. Its soils are composed of hard granite with a very thin alluvial top soil, very similar to the Muscadet region of Atlantic France. The name “Salnés” comes from the salt flats that once covered the area (sal = salt). During the Middle Ages, the valley’s inhabitants collected salt and used it for preserving the fish that left their ports on merchant ships. The Latin name for the region was Territorium Salinense, which gradually became Salnés in Galician. The pergola trained vineyards are pratically at sea level, on gentle slopes or on the plain close to the Umia River.
100% Albariño. The Pergola trained vineyards are located near the town of Arousa in Val de Salnes. Hand harvested. Natural fermentation in stainless steel tanks at very low temperature to preserve all the aromatics. Aged 9 months on the lees in tanks.
A fresh and crisp albariño with green apples, kiwis, grapefruit and water lilies on the nose. Medium-bodied, with refreshing saline and fresh herb undertones. Lovely energy and balance.
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The Ribeiro wine appellation is located in the north west corner of Spain, in the province of Galicia, in between the valleys created by the Miño, Arnoia, and Avia rivers. The region is surrounded by Rias Baixas from the west and Ribeira Sacra to the east. Ribeiro, or «riverbank» in the Galician language, is the oldest of the five Denominaciones de Origen in Galicia. Ribeiro’s position on the banks of the three rivers makes for quite rolling terrain with steep river banks which can be difficult to farm. In landscapes such as these, winemakers often create terraces in their vineyards to make the land easier to farm, position their vines to make the most of the available sunlight and to facilitate access come harvest time. Soils in Ribeiro have quite a high granite content - sabrego is the local word used to describe the decomposed granite soils typically found in the area –often with a loamy, silty texture on the surface.
85% Treixadura, 15% Godello. Skin maceration for a few hours and then gentle pressing. Fermented and aged on its own lees 6 months in tanks.
Fruit-driven nose of green apple and melon with a peachy character. It has an appetizing combination of creaminess and acidity. Silky and pliant in texture, showing good heft and picking up a honeyed element with aeration. It is the perfect choice for various dishes based on fish, seafood, white meat or cheeses.
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Cultivated since Roman times, Ribeira Sacra’s steep terraced vineyards are some of the most picturesque and treacherous to work in the world of wine. It is broken up into five subzones: Amandi, Chantada, Quiroga-Bibei, Ribeiras do Miño and Ribeiras do Sil. It has a greater diversity of grapes, expositions, altitudes, slope angles, bedrock types and topsoil compositions than many other wine regions. Rectoral di Amandi is one of the five Galician wineries belonging to Bodegas Millenium (Rias Baixas Abellio Albariño, Ribeiro Gran Alanis). They own 180 ha in total of vineyards, work with 400 local growers.
Blend of hand-picked Mencía (85%), Garnacha and Sousón with vines ranging from five to 60 years old, half of them on alluvial soils and slate subsoils, and half on pebbles and granite. Aged 8 months in tanks.
Dark, fresh and thrillingly aromatic from first sniff to last swallow. The palate is soft-textured, mouth-filling, exuberant and comely, structured more prominently by acidity than tannin, though that acidity is sweet and juicy in its own right. There is nothing at all sharp or hard about this tender, almost lip-smacking red. 97 Decanter
Take a 7B pencil (dark, graphite, coal dust soft); trace a dark-red rose petal on tissue paper; fold the paper into an envelope; tuck the pencil inside it; fill it with black cherries, three cloves, a pinch of caraway seeds, a sprig of rosemary. Sprinkle in some menthol-sherbet space dust. Drop in a fairy-sized firework. Close the envelope, crush elderberries between your finger tips, finger-print the envelope with the purple-black juice. Deliver it in a wine glass. Impishly delicious, outrageously fresh yet black-velvet sumptuous, doo-wop fun yet pretty complex, super-juicy wine. 17 Points Jancis Robinson
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