Guímaro
A Ponte Ribeira Sacra Mencía
Ribeira Sacra, Galicia, Spain
Ribeira Sacra is a breathtaking region in Galicia, Spain, where the pigmented grape ‘Mencía’ plays a key role in winemaking, producing beautifully perfumed & ambrosial reds.
Just close your eyes & imagine steep slopes plunging down into deep river canyons, with historic terraced vineyards perched along the hillsides, gently curving & weaving along and above the Miño and Sil rivers.
Hopefully this helps paint a picture of Ribeira Sacra’s spectacular terrain but it’s worth searching for actual images (if you’ve never seen it).
The term ‘heroic viticulture’ aptly describes the type of farming that takes place here, where vignerons must perform all vineyard tasks by hand, risking life & limb, to bring these unique and authentic wines to our tables.
This 2019 ‘A Ponte’ is a prime example, thanks to Pedro Rodríguez of Guímaro (meaning “rebel” in Gallego), named after his grandfather with a nod to the fiercely independent & self-reliant local identity.
This wine is made with 30% Mencía accompanied by local, heirloom varieties Sousón, Brancellao, Merenzao, Caiño Redondo, & Caiño Longo) grown on granite, slate and sand.
After harvesting by hand, the grapes underwent a wild ferment using 100% whole clusters, contributing to the fruit-driven profile. This wine was then racked into large (and old) Burgundian oak barrels for about 14 months and bottled without fining or filtering.
The result is gulpably delicious, balanced, & complex. It is overflowing with expressive notes of muddled strawberry, ruby red grapefruit, leather, raspberry, plum, blueberry, mulberry, rhubarb sauce, rooibos tea, violet, bacon fat, forest floor, black cherry, black forest cake, fennel, black licorice, anise seed, and wet moss.
On the palate, it’s dry with an energetic acid profile, soft & fine tannins, medium alcohol (13% ABV), overall medium body, & a lingering finish.
This wine tells a story of heroism, history, & place. Not to mention it’s a highly versatile food-pairing wine, which begs for a shared meal with loved ones. Cheers!
Ribeira Sacra is a breathtaking region in Galicia, Spain, where the pigmented grape ‘Mencía’ plays a key role in winemaking, producing beautifully perfumed & ambrosial reds.
Just close your eyes & imagine steep slopes plunging down into deep river canyons, with historic terraced vineyards perched along the hillsides, gently curving & weaving along and above the Miño and Sil rivers.
Hopefully this helps paint a picture of Ribeira Sacra’s spectacular terrain but it’s worth searching for actual images (if you’ve never seen it).
The term ‘heroic viticulture’ aptly describes the type of farming that takes place here, where vignerons must perform all vineyard tasks by hand, risking life & limb, to bring these unique and authentic wines to our tables.
This 2019 ‘A Ponte’ is a prime example, thanks to Pedro Rodríguez of Guímaro (meaning “rebel” in Gallego), named after his grandfather with a nod to the fiercely independent & self-reliant local identity.
This wine is made with 30% Mencía accompanied by local, heirloom varieties Sousón, Brancellao, Merenzao, Caiño Redondo, & Caiño Longo) grown on granite, slate and sand.
After harvesting by hand, the grapes underwent a wild ferment using 100% whole clusters, contributing to the fruit-driven profile. This wine was then racked into large (and old) Burgundian oak barrels for about 14 months and bottled without fining or filtering.
The result is gulpably delicious, balanced, & complex. It is overflowing with expressive notes of muddled strawberry, ruby red grapefruit, leather, raspberry, plum, blueberry, mulberry, rhubarb sauce, rooibos tea, violet, bacon fat, forest floor, black cherry, black forest cake, fennel, black licorice, anise seed, and wet moss.
On the palate, it’s dry with an energetic acid profile, soft & fine tannins, medium alcohol (13% ABV), overall medium body, & a lingering finish.
This wine tells a story of heroism, history, & place. Not to mention it’s a highly versatile food-pairing wine, which begs for a shared meal with loved ones. Cheers!
