Mencia Joven - Mencia

Mencia + 15% andere rassen | selectie van terraswijngaarden, 70% langs de Rio Sil (slate en graniet) en 30% langs de Rio Minho (zand, quartz en slate) | vergisting whole bunch in open houten tank, semi carbonische start | rijping op staal en een klein deel op hout | 30 mg so2 per liter | juicy | sappig | aards | wilde kruiden | puur rood fruit | krokant | fijn zuren | zo fraai als een grote Morgon uit de Beaujolais 

Guimaro

Na twintig jaar hard werken heeft Pedro een prachtig domein gecreëerd dat klaar is voor de toekomst. Het bezoek aan de wijngaarden is indrukwekkend! Wat een helden werk wordft hier verricht om het mogelijk te maken deze unieke wijnen te bottelen! zo steil, alles met hand. Er is geen enkele twijfel over de succesvolle toekomst van Guimaro, mede doordat Guiterrez van Parker al meerdere malen de Finca Capellinos als beste wijn van Galicië heeft uitgeroepen! All time favourite!

Review

Pedro "Guímaro" thinks 2019 could be one of the finest vintages of recent times, with textbook conditions and a perfect cycle for the grape. The first wine from that year is the unoaked red 2019 Vino Tinto, which was bottled a few days before I tasted it. It's the usual blend of plots, soils and expositions that represent Ribeira Sacra, with a majority of Mencía and 15% other local grapes, and it fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in tank with the lees for four to eight months depending on the lot. Pouring the wine into the glass, I was surprised by the lighter color, a bright ruby, and when I looked at the label, I read 12.5% alcohol—lower than ever, I think. The percentage of grapes from Miño and the other grape varieties used (especially Garnacha Tintorera) give them more components to blend. I don't think lower alcohol or picking early is a recipe, but I believe that when you are ABLE to pick early but ripe and with lower alcohol through viticulture, the wines have a more focused expression of the places. And this young red has to be the finest I have ever tasted from Guímaro: The wine has an expressive nose of the grapes and the poor, stony soils and a vibrant palate, with very fine tannins, clean flavors and a superb finish. Gimme a "pulpo a la Gallega" (octopus Galician style!). Well done! They produce around 100,000 bottles of this wine, which represents the largest volume of their production.

Guímaro has 11 hectares of vineyards—all in the Amandi subzone of Ribeira Sacra and all in the village of Doade—and they control another 20 hectares across Ribeira Sacra. They produce 160,000 bottles per year. Since 2013, alcohol levels have been lowered, and it's not low alcohol just for the hell of it. But when you are able to harvest earlier with ripe grapes and lower alcohol, the wines show the terroir more transparently. This change has been gradual, and in 2019, some of the wines have alcohol levels of 12.5%. I caught the 2018s, which could very well be their finest vintage to date. Luis Gutiérrez 92/100