2022 Do Ferreiro, Rías Baixas Albariño
2022 Do Ferreiro, Rías Baixas Albariño
2022 Do Ferreiro, Rías Baixas Albariño

2022 Do Ferreiro, Rías Baixas Albariño

Galicia, Spain 2022 (750mL)
Regular price$45.00
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2022 Do Ferreiro, Rías Baixas Albariño

Here we’ve got a much colder, more wind-whipped coastal vineyard area— the famed Rías Baixas region of northwestern-most Spain—and more resolutely mineral- driven white that seems to capture the scent and taste of sea air in a bottle. Over the last five-plus years, we’ve seen Rías Baixas Albariño evolve from a fun, “alternative” selection to a wine-list staple and a qualitative equal to the greatest whites of France. Leading the charge in this endeavor has been the impeccable Do Ferreiro, whose Albariños continue to be the standard- bearers in this fast-evolving region.

Do Ferreiro’s vineyards are mostly found in a subzone of Rías Baixas called the Val do Salnés. Like the other subzones within the broader Rías Baixas DO, Val do Salnés is an estuary along the Atlantic Coast (“Rías Baixas” translates as “low estuaries”). The vineyards here are mere miles from the Atlantic Ocean, amid a network of streams that trickle over granite on their way to the sea. You pick up not just a “wet stone” minerality in the wine but a palpable salinity—literally the result of salty sea air collecting on the skins of the grapes.

From vineyards rooted in soils of decomposed sandy granite (a mixture known locally as sabrego), hand-harvested Albariño (100%) is destemmed, cold-macerated for a few hours, and pressed. Fermentation in stainless steel is carried out using ambient yeasts only, after which the wine ages for six to nine months on its lees in steel tanks. There is no bâtonnage (lees-stirring), and malolactic fermentation is blocked, so the resulting wine is bracingly fresh and deeply mineral, with just a hint of creaminess from the lees aging.

Founded in 1973, Do Ferreiro is the pride of Gerardo Méndez. Gerardo and his family farm 10 hectares, most of which range from 50 years old to over 200 years old. The family is one of the very few in the Rías Baixas region to follow organic guidelines, avoiding the use of pesticides and non-organic fertilizers. Furthermore, the Méndez family is devoted to the fermentation with only indigenous yeasts, versus the synthetic, paint-by-numbers commercial yeasts that predominate in the region.

It’s a glistening straw-gold in the glass with greenish highlights, with bright aromas of salted lemon, white peach, green mango, fresh green herbs, crushed rocks, sea salt, fresh cream, and chamomile tea. Medium-bodied and racy, with an oyster shell note that calls great Chablis to mind, it also displays some phenolic bitterness, like well steeped green tea, that is classic to the Albariño grape. Pair with grilled or braised octopus for the ultimate in Galician authenticity.

2022 Do Ferreiro, Rías Baixas Albariño
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