2023 Albariño Rias Baixas 93WA+
Do Ferreiro
Rias Baixas
Galicia, Spain

$29.99 on 6+ (code: 6saves2)
$31.99 reg

93 pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The young and tender 2022 Albariño is the blend of the grapes from 165 plots in the Salnés, fermented with a pied de cuve from the old vines, fermented in stainless steel and matured with lees. It has a balsamic nose with notes of grass and bay leaf, a round palate with pungent flavors and good acidity. It's clean and varietal, reflecting a warmer year.
- Luis Gutierrez, The Wine Advocate
Gerardo Méndez and his family work 165 plots of vines, a total of 14 hectares in the Valle del Salnés in Rías Baixas. 2021 is a classical vintage going back to the weather from yesteryear; 2022, which they compare with 2010, is an extreme vintage with very dry and warm weather.

Vinification – Bunches are hand-selected in the vineyard, handpicked, and placed in small crates. Grapes are destemmed, cold-macerated for a few hours, and pressed. A natural yeast fermentation begins using a pied de cuve from the winery’s historic Cepas Vellas vineyard, followed by aging on the lees for six to nine months without bâtonnage in stainless steel tanks. No malolactic fermentation, unfiltered, light bentonite fining.

• Site: Meaño, Salnés Valley at 150-250m

• Vine Age: 20-120+ years old

• Soil: Decomposed granite and sand – sábrego

• Farming: Practicing organic
  

Do Ferreiro is a benchmark Albariño. Every year, it delivers the goods, showing a degree of aromatic complexity, nervy minerality, and pure intensity of flavor that always makes it stand out from the rest. Delicious upon release, it is also one of the few Albariños to improve in bottle for up to a decade (maybe longer?) beyond the vintage year. There is bright fruit intermingling with the classic Do Ferreiro salty/smoky mineral bite. Enjoy this wine on its own or with all types of seafood.