Written by Ferran Centelles 22 Aug 2018 Go-getting Galicia Galicia is one of the most active wine regions within Spain. The number of wineries is booming, small projects are flourishing, and ambitious grape growers continue to start producing and labelling their own wines. To be honest, there is such a shake-up in the region that I even get confused and find it difficult to keep my information up to date. Luckily, I collaborate with an organisation called INGAVI (Galician Wine Institute), which looks after Galician sommelier education and does many wine events. The general manager is the renowned sommelier and seasoned expert Xoan Canas, who basically knows everyone and everything in Galicia. With the team of INGAVI I always end up talking about new producers, rare wines and tiny projects. Normally, the conversations are very humbling as I discover new names, new varieties and trends. If you have read my articles already, you will know how I adore going to the Consejo Regulador of any wine region for a tasting. I normally ask for one or two samples from each winery, sometimes three of four from particularly important producers. I try to limit the tasting to 80 samples per day and when possible I taste blind. I like the idea of encouraging all producers to present samples; it is fair and normally it translates into new wine discoveries and finding up-and-coming producers. However, the tasting below is not one of that kind. Of course it was blind, but the selection was 'maliciously prepared' by the team at INGAVI. They selected and gathered the wines that, from their point of view, best represent quality, innovation and the new Galician flavours. The excitement in the region is palpable. New energy is already here and the purpose of this article is to introduce this new generation of producers. The majority of wines presented below are produced in tiny quantites (1,000–3,000 bottles). This is necessitated by the fact that this is a region of smallholdings, and because the wines tasted are mostly top cuvées. Wines from the five DOs (Denominación de Origen) within Galicia are presented: Ribeira Sacra, Ribeiro, Rías Baixas, Valdeorras and Monterrei. And wines from IGP (Vino de la Tierra) Barbanza e Iria and Betanzos on the coast north of Rías Baixas are also included. And there are also wines from some producers who prefer not to belong to any appellation and simply label their wines Vino de España. In Galicia red-wine quality has improved enormously. You will find in the notes below equal numbers of red and white wines, a fact hard to imagine several years ago. This is a very welcome change. The new Galician reds, currently so popular in the best restaurants in Spain, are vibrant and not alcoholic. However, some of these wines are fermented with stems, which, if not superbly ripe, can impart green flavours that, in my view, are undesirable. The white wines were very pleasurable, too. I particularly like the use of oak, which today has a supporting role, improving texture but not overwhelming the wine at all. To be honest, the tasting was one of most relaxed and hedonistic recently. I am sure that after reading some of the notes, you will want to taste more Galician wines. I normally prefer talking about the wine per se rather than about the person behind it. I think I taste better if I know less about the life and miracles of the producer. The extrinsic quality clues of the wine such as the prestige of the winery or the sense of place, the heritage, are, for me, less important than the taste of the wine (its balance or concentration). However, in this article I have included some personal stories as I really need to show you some of the new and classical faces that performed exceptionally well. In Rías Baixas the historical producers such as Pazo de Señorans and Do Ferreiro (who presented a superb wine called Adina) are today superbly joined by others such as Rodrigo Méndez from Forjas del Salnés. He is the nephew of Gerardo Méndez of Do Ferreiro and counts on the inspirational local winemaker Raúl Pérez (https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/raul-perez-ultreia-st-jacques-2008-bierzo) for some of his top reds. In addition, Eulogio Pomares is today a very successful and creative winemaker in both his family estate Zárate and in his own eponymous project shared with his wife Rebecca. Alberto Nanclares y Silvia Prieto are also on the crest of the wave in terms of popularity. They are producing authentic wines based on minerality rather than fruit with minimal intervention. I actually like them very much. However, the wine selected for the tasting is produced as an orange wine and did not get the rating expected. In any case, I recommend you look for their oak-matured whites such as the cuvée Nanclares. Allow me to highlight the work of Xurxo Alba (pictured above) of Albamar. Since 2006 he has taken care of the family winery that was launched 25 years ago. He has at least seven different Albariño labels; he is all ready great and the future looks equally promising. The Albamar cuvée presented is ridicoulsy inexpensive for its quality. The whites from Xurxo are more convincing than the reds. Fulcro is another name to promote within Rías Baixas. This is a micro-project managed by Manuel Moldes (pictured below). He is recovering old vines around Pontevedra. He is not the most well-known producer – yet. Today his whites are truly a bargain. Ribeira Sacra was the most suprising region; there are lots of outstanding red wines and it keeps getting even more exciting. The classics are Dominio do Bibei (owned by the affable but quality- obsessed Javier Domínguez) and Algueira (in the hands of the meticulous and precise Fernando González). They are both leaders in quality and performed well as usual. Ponte da Boga – a winery with the pre-eminent Dominique Roujou de Boubee as winemaker – follows, together with Guímaro, a superbly revitalised project driven by Pedro Manuel Rodríguez. I'm now going to divulge three important new names. All of them are very new and none of the three falls within the appellation system although their vineyards and wineries are within the Ribeira Sacra area. Fedellos do Couto is a project launched in 2013 by three partners that have put every single cent from past works into this tiny project (just 22,000 bottles a year). They are Curro Bareño (pictured below wearing a hat), Jesús Olivares (pictured below with no glasses) and Luis Taboada. Before getting together they had different experiences in many regions in Spain. Their Bastarda is a delicate wine that makes your mouth water. Daterra Viticultores is the personal project of Laura Lorenzo (pictured below). She started in 2015 and previously worked for Dominio do Bibei. She owns 4.5 ha (11 acres) of very old vines (some of them 120 years old). Her wine Azos do Pobo was a star during the tasting and I gave it 18 points. She works in permaculture (somewhere between ecological and sustainable). Silice Viticultores (pictured below) started in 2013. They own crazy parcels within the Amandi subregion of Ribeira Sacra. The brothers Carlos and Juan M Rodríguez are acompanied by Fredi Torres (a prolific winemaker with projects in some Catalan regions) in this adventure. Their top cuvées are among the most expensive wines in Galicia but I think they are worth it. Although I have this time highlighted those three projects, the tasting included other outstanding wines from Ribeira Sacra. Fazenda Prádio in the hands of Javier Seoane (a third-generation viticulturist) produces a remarkable wine with miniumal sulphur. Furthermore, the crew from Envínate (https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/the-canaries-where-vines-and-wines-creep-up-on-you) a project that gathers four friends (Laura Ramos, José Martínez, Roberto Santana and Alfonso Torrente) and produces excellent wines in other regions such as the Canary Islands. To finish with Ribeira Sacra I would like to emphasise the very good work of Rodrigo Méndez (Forjas del Salnés) together with Raúl Pérez for the superb 2,500 bottles of their great Mencía known as Castro Canada, A Boca do Demo. Valdeorras performed well. Rafa Palacios (https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/rafael-palacios-as-sortes-2011- valdeorras) is already well known but, believe me, his O Soro was the best white in the tasting. I can still remember its electrifying presence. Viña Somoza is advised by Javier García, who, in turn, is part of the project of 4 Monos and Jiménez Landi in the Sierra de Gredos (https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/gredos-pinotlike-garnacha) . His Valdeorras wines are delicate, not far from the elegance that he is achieving in Gredos. Unfortunately, Telmo Rodrígez did not want to send samples – a shame as his Valdeorras As Caborcas would have perfectly suited the selection. In Ribeiro I would like to highlight the superb enterprise with Joxe Lois Sebio (Coto de Gomariz) and Bernardo Estévez at the head. Bernardo presented two wines but asked me not to publish my notes on them. However, I can say that his Chánselus white and Chánselus red, both worked biodynamically, are fairly good, particularly the white. In Ribeiro one of the historic producers is Luis Anxo Rodríguez (pictured below), a celebrated and tireless winemaker. I love his wines. A Teixa 2015 has been, so far, one of the most memorable bottles I have drunk this year and is the only wine I rated without tasting it blind.