In 1988, Javier Alén was part of the first generation to explore Ribeiro’s lost fame, replanting 40 acres of vines in the hills above the Avia River to local varieties. In 2013, he hired Dani Landi and Fernando García to take charge of the vineyards and winemaking. Best known for Comando G, their old-vine garnacha from the hills above Madrid, they brought their interest in organic farming to the project and soon transformed Alén’s vineyards and winery to produce wines like this blend, focused on treixadura (70 percent), with godello, albariño, loureira, torrontés and lado. It’s rare to find a $26 white wine—from anywhere—with this kind of subtle energy and engaging complexity. The wine is immediately delicious, offering a pale tropical-fruit flavor, as creamy-rich as cherimoya, but completely white. That flavor feels misty and sunny, lasting on open-ended lusciousness. It’s either the texture or the flavor that will keep you wanting more. Get some.
De Maison Selections, Chapel Hill, NC
94
Viña Mein 2017 Ribeiro
$26
Joshua Greene is the editor and publisher of Wine & Spirits magazine.
This story appears in the print issue of August 2020.
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