Sale!

Telmo Rodriguez Gaba do Xil Mencia Spanish Red Wine 750 mL

$14.99

91 rating Wine Advocate

After devastating frost in 2017 and killer mildew in 2018, the vintage for the red 2019 Gaba do Xil Tinto from Valdeorras was healthier and the crop good, save for some hail in specific vineyards during the summer. It was a ripe, healthy and balanced year. This is a young, unoaked Mencía with 13.44% alcohol that fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel, where it matured for 12 months before bottling. It’s intensely aromatic and expressive, varietal and with the wild rusticity of the zone. The palate is medium-bodied, with very fine tannins and a soft mouthfeel. 96,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2020.

Luis Gutiérrez, August 2021

I tasted the wines from Galicia from Telmo Rodríguez as part of his annual portfolio tasting. I’ve included those notes here again for context and completeness of this article.

Vinification – After a manual harvest and grape selection in the vineyard, the wine is fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks. It is then aged, also in stainless steel, for twelve months before bottling.

Site: Valdeorras, Larouco at 400m to 500m
Grapes: 70% Mencía and 30% Merenzao
Vine Age: 20-80+ years old
Soil: Granite
Farming: Organic

SKU: 819451005003-3-1 Categories: , , ,

Description

Ladieras Gaba do Xil: Village-Level Valdeorras Red  

Gaba do Xil is named for the hillsides of the Sil River, which is the lifeblood of the region. They are the estate-grown red and white village wines, an introduction to the limited production single cru wines of Ladeiras do Xil. Gaba do Xil offers the drinker an incredible value for handmade Galician wines for everyday drinking, which rival the wines of similar quality in Burgundy and Beaujolais. The wines are produced from godello, mencía, and merenzao grapes grown in estate vineyards. The primary vineyard lies inland at 400-500m elevation, near the town of Larouco, which has an Atlantic influence due to the location in a valley that forms an outlet to the sea. The blend also contains grapes from estate vineyards in Santa Cruz and Las Ermitas. Viticulture is certified organic, and the grapes are hand-harvested. Wines are made with low intervention and minimal sulfur at bottling.

Additional information

Weight 48 oz
Dimensions 5 × 5 × 17 in
Custom Label 0

Related products