We love Albariño, and so do most of you it seems, which is why these fresh, salty, sea breeze beauties are in regular rotation. But, did you know that small amounts of red wine are made in the same Galician sub-region of Rías Baixas too? I was surprised too. The Val do Salnes is the heart of Rías Baixas, and this is where you will find Alberto Nanclares and SIlvio Prieto, organically farming about five hectares of vineyards. The vast majority of course are planted to Albariño, but they also have eight micro-parcels of Mencía, Caiño, and Espadeiro. To say that the red they make, “A Senda Vermella,” is in a category all its own would be an understatement. Bright, crunchy red fruit is balanced by the same pronounced salinity you find in the best Albariño. And the crazy thing is that this wine is perfectly ripe, perfectly balanced, bone-dry, and still just 9.5% alcohol! I’ve never seen anything like it, and it’s ideal for any and all who want to cut back a bit without resorting to barely drinkable, low-no alcohol wines. Check it out!
About 30 years ago, Alberto Nanclares and his wife moved from their native Basque country to the Galician seaside hamlet of Castrelo, not far from the heart of the Val do Salnés, Cambados. The home they purchased included some vineyard land, which Alberto, an economist by training, didn’t bother with at first. Over time, wine and farming grew on him, as did the notion of farming organically, without chemicals—not an easy thing to do in this cold, wet growing zone, where many of the vineyards are perched on bluffs right above the Atlantic. Over time, Alberto took over full-time winemaking responsibilities at the estate, vinifying his wines by parcel and generally avoiding the use of oak barrels for aging. His naturally farmed, naturally made wines radiate purity and pulse with energy while displaying the profound saltiness that comes from fruit grown close to the coast. They have edge, and grip. That goes, of course, for the Albariño wines, but also for today’s tiny production “Viño Tinto.”
Having grown his vineyard holdings to about five hectares in and around Cambados, Alberto has taken on Silvia Prieto as a partner to help with day-to-day operations at the growing property. Together they make decisions in the vineyards and the cellar, and they craft a rather wide range of wines given the relatively small size of the estate, with an emphasis on single-vineyard (or village-specific) bottlings. For their tiny production, completely unique red wine “A Senda Vermella,” they crush the hand-harvested, whole clusters by foot then allow them to ferment and macerate for 21 days before pressing the wine into a combination of used French oak barrels (69%) and steel tanks (31%) to age for 11 months.
If you were to tell me you had a red wine that was 9.5% alcohol by volume, I would assume that it was either sweet, or underripe (or both!). Not so at all with “A Senda Vermella,” somehow this beautiful, mysterious bottle of red is perfectly balanced by red fruits–strawberry, red currant, cranberry–and savory notes of rosewater, blood orange, pink peppercorn, and clove. Throw in the classic Val do Salnes salinity and granitic minerality and you have magical wine with loads of flavor and complexity, and a light, low-alcohol freshness. It has to be poured and enjoyed to be believed, so be sure to grab a few bottles–one will not be enough!
