Description
Wine Details
Schist slates soils facing south with a Mediterranean microclimate with Atlantic influence.
The winery makes this beautiful “crunchy” tank-aged wine, and working up to others that see some aging in (mostly) seasoned oak 500-liter barrels. They also make tiny quantities of wines from several rare indigenous varieties, in both red and white. To compose these masterpieces, they began work with the famous Raul Perez as the “spiritual” guiding winemaker. They further carry the biodynamic baton in the winery and use foot treading of grapes and spontaneous fermentations to make these pure, natural, mineral-laden and beautifully textured wines.
Alcohol Grade: 13%
Aging/ Vinification: Destemmed and pressed grape, with fermentation posterior in stainless steel tanks. No aging.
Best to have it: 12-14ºC
Size: 750 ml
Ratings:
Guía Peñín: 91pt (2019)
The Winery: Adega Algueira
Ribeira Sacra is one of the world’s most amazing and dramatic wine regions. Like the Mosel or Cote Rotie, the vineyards are planted on extremely steep inclines (some up to 75 degrees!) and planted on terraces made from pure schist soils. These vineyards descend precipitously to the River Sil that twists and turns through the bottom of the valley. The schist soils, steep inclines and tempering effects of the river provide the perfect micro climate for producing truly special and unique wines.
One of the region’s superstars is Adega Algueira which is run by the super passionate father-son team of Fernando and Fabio Algueira. The vineyards are located in the Armandi Subzone of the appellation, generally considered the best and most consistent for growing the region’s indigenous varietals. At the top of the banks, amongst chestnut and oak trees, lies the winery built in the Romanesque style to mimic the monasteries crafted by monks in this area back in the 12th Century. Of course the monks brought with them the need for wine and so they began planting vines along the banks of the Sil. Even before the middle ages, there are stories of Ribeira Sacra wine being shipped to ancient Roman Emperors.
All the fruit used in their wines is estate grown with the utmost care using biodynamic methods (though not “officially” certified). Given the extreme steepness of the slopes, all the vineyard work and harvest are done, painstakingly, by hand.
Algueira’s Ribeira Sacras are all special wines, not to mention incredible values given the work involved to produce them. They deserve a place in the pantheon of unique and soulful wines from one of the great and largely undiscovered terroirs in the wine world.
