Algueira Ribeira Sacra Carravel 2017

Algueira Ribeira Sacra Carravel is an old-vine Mencía from the coolest slate terraces of Doade, released five years after harvest.

Ribeira Sacra follows the gorges of the Sil and Miño rivers in southern Galicia, where vines are worked entirely by hand on terraces cut into near-vertical slopes, a practice the Spanish trade calls heroic viticulture. Fernando González Riveiro founded Algueira in the 1980s and has been central to the appellation's revival. Carravel is drawn from several old-vine terraces that hug a cool zone of perilously steep slate and schist soils in the Doade subregion; where the estate's Pizarra comes from the warmer Carballo Cobo vineyard, this is the more restrained of the two flagship Mencías. The fruit is hand-harvested, then foot-trodden and fermented with roughly 20 per cent whole bunches in large wooden tronconique vats. Ageing runs between 12 and 24 months in neutral 600-litre barrels, with a few very old barriques, so the wood carries the wine rather than flavouring it.

Ready on release and good for another decade in the cellar, it suits slow-roast lamb, grilled octopus and hard Galician cheeses. Serve at 16-18°C.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.