CORTEZADA, FEDELLOS DO COUTO

The grapes for this wine come from a single vineyard above Sil river. A subtle, elegant version of Mencia that is floral and refined. A little peppery, dark cherries, plums, undergrowth and tobacco leaf on the nose. On tasting velvety, juicy fruit, sunny warm flavours with bright acidity.

Fedellos loosely translates as "Brats", and Couto refers to the 12th century manor in Ribeira Sacra at the heart of the vineyards. It's a young project, started in 2013 by winemakers Curro Barreño and Jesús Olivares and Luis Taboada (whose family has owned the Couto manor for generations). They lease a small selection of vineyards which are farmed organically and worked by hand - you couldn't do otherwise on these steep terraces! The vines are planted on terraces along the steep slopes of the rivers Sil and Bibei, with a myriad of grape varieties, altitudes, and expositions. The wines are fermented with indigenous yeasts and whole bunches, at low temperatures to favour a gentle extraction of colour and phenolics. All the wines share an Atlantic freshness and a slatey minerality that make these wines unmistakably Galician.