Conasbrancas - Godello, Doña Blanca & co. (21)

50% Godello, 25% Doña Branca & 25% mix met Treixadura, Colgadeira, Albariño and Palomino | verschillende oude wijngaarden in de Val do Bibei in Valdeorras | 80% vergist in barrique | 20% hele trossen in plastic kuipen | rijping voor 8 maanden in 300 en 500 liter gebruikt Frans eiken | weelderig | puut | pit | kruidig | witte bloemen | zout | wijn-spijs top

Fedellos do Couto & Peixes

Sinds 2013 zijn Curro en Jesús samen met Luis Tobada gestart met hun Fedellos do Couto project. De wijngaarden waar de opbrengsten eerst van werden verkocht wordt hier nu wijn gemaakt. Op de zeven hectare grond die zij bewerken staan soms wel acht tot negen druivenrassen door elkaar! Het gebied Ribeira Sacra staat bekend om zijn prachtige natuur. Scherpe kliffen, riviertjes en beekjes en flinke rotspartijen. Later komen daar wijngaarden in de DO Ribeiro bij op grote hoogte. Karakteristieke wijnen met karakter en puurheid!

Review

The white 2019 Conasbrancas was produced with grapes from different old vineyards in different parishes of the village of Manzaneda (Soutipedre, Seoane, Langullo) within the Val do Bibei on different soils (granite, slate, quartzite and gneiss). It's approximately 50% Godello, 25% Dona Branca and the remaining 25% a mixture of varieties, including Treixadura, Colgadeira, Albariño and Palomino. Eighty percent of the volume was pressed and fermented in barrique and the rest with full clusters in plastic bins. It matured in used 300- and 500-liter oak barrels for eight months with the lees but without bâtonnage. There is less and less effect from the skins. It has 12.3% alcohol, a pH of 3.2 and seven grams of acidity. It's wild and characterful, a white of strong personality, with hints of dry flowers and honey, a little herbal (the stems) and spicy with something meaty and brothy too. It has citrus freshness and a long, dry and tasty finish, subtle and austere on the palate. 7,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2020. 93/100 Luis Gutiérrez

Fedellos do Couto is now only Fedellos, as they are going to move away from the Pazo do Couto and into a set of old wineries in the village of Seadur. Furthermore, the project is going to merge with Peixes, all under the Fedellos name but with different brands. That will happen with the 2020 vintage. For now, I tasted their 2019s, from a slightly warmer but drier year, but not as much as in central Spain. The wines keep the cool-climate profile.