Rodrigo Méndez - Cies Blanco, Val do Salnes, Rias Baixas, Spain (2021)

TASTING NOTES

Gorgeous wine! All the freshness, bite and salinity one expects from Albariño, but with additional dimensions of weight, texture, graininess and a really long finish. 

'Cies' is the name of an island in Rias Baixas, and this bottling of 100% Albarino pays hommage to it. The vines grow within the Val do Salnes subzone and were planted between 1954 and 1964 upon sandy, granite soils. 

Rodrigo Mendez focuses solely on Albariño to highlight expressions of the iconic Galicia white grape in a completely different light. Until the 1980s, when stainless steel technology was implemented by all wineries, Rodrigo brought back traditional styles of winemaking where this Albariño is fermented with its own indigenous yeast, does not undergo malolactic fermentation and (50%) is aged in old wood vessels without temperature control (the other 50% is aged in stainless steel to emphasize freshness).