Galicia Wine Taste: a wine pilgrim’s progress
Bill Bolloten makes a wine pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela for the first edition of Galicia Wine Taste
Con pan y vino se hace el camino, goes the saying that could be applied to the tens of thousands of pilgrims who walk the Camino de Santiago every year.
The route ends in the city of Santiago de Compostela, where many peregrinos will rest up in the Praza do Obradoiro square that is overlooked by the huge baroque façade of the Cathedral of Saint James, through whose doors they will then pass in order to attend the traditional pilgrims’ mass.
Cathedral of Saint James, Santiago de Compostela
I too visited the square and walked around the Cathedral last month, although not with the aim of receiving the customary blessings and plenary indulgences. Rather, I was on my way to Galicia Wine Taste, a winefair to celebrate the very best of Galician winemaking.
Held in one of the beautiful, light-filled cloisters of the Hotel Monumento San Francisco, 58 wineries were present, including some key winemakers from the neighbouring Bierzo region, Portugal and even Rioja.
Cloister at the Hotel Monumento San Francisco
This first edition of Galicia Wine Taste was organised by the co-founders of Silice Viticultores in Ribeira Sacra: brothers Juan and Carlos Rodríguez, together with Fredi Torres, who also has his own projects in Catalonia and Switzerland.
The quality of the wines on show confirmed what we already know: wines from Galicia are some of the most exciting and compelling in Spain. It’s a region full of dynamic winemakers drawing inspiration from local traditions, but also driving into the future with fresh approaches.
The many faces of Albariño captured my attention, as you would expect. There were world-class wines from Rías Baixas producers such as Bodegas Albamar, Adega Pedro Méndez, Pazo de Señorans and Eulogio Pomares. As writer Noah Chichester put it earlier this year on the Everyday Drinking Substack, this region “offers a dizzying array of ways to look at the Albariño grape, and it’s time we started talking about it.”
Seeing many of Galicia’s lesser known local grape varieties coming into their own as single-varietal wines was a further illustration of the region’s spirit of viticultural innovation.
Hopefully, Galicia Wine Taste will become a regular event. Here are five wines I tasted that excited my palate.
A Espedrada 2023, Adega O Cabalin
100% Godello from old vines planted in different plots between 1918 and 1929. The fruit was handpicked and partially destemmed, before maceration in stainless steel tanks. Fermentation was carried out in 500 L oak barrels with indigenous yeasts.
The nose showed herbs, dried flowers and citrus zest. Very fresh with racy acidity, lifted and refined, this was a wonderful Godello.
Desconcierto 2019, Cambados Urban Winery
From vineyards located at just 10 metres above sea level and kissing the shore of the Ría de Arousa, this Albariño was a pure expression of its terroir.
Its aroma could be likened to the burst of salt and iodine as you open a tin of berberechos (cockles). The nose was intense with white peach, pear and apple, interwoven with sea spray and shells. The palate was full, pungent, savoury and utterly captivating, with a long aftertaste.
Uxía da Ponte 2023, Bodega Mauro Estevez
A unique white wine made from the scarce white grape variety Lado, whose home is in the Ribeiro DO. Usually used as a blending component in wines made with Treixadura and Torrontés, there is a limited production of just 700 bottles of this monovarietal cuvée.
This was surprisingly broad, unctous and powerful, with generous fruit, spicy notes and a long, slightly bitter finish.
Las Galochas Doña Blanca 2023, Banzao
Another single-varietal wine from a variety usually blended with others. Doña Blanca was described to me by the bodega as “delicate and prone to mildew and botrytis, but a fantastic grape.”
Banzao, located in DO Bierzo, have created a really attractive wine from vines planted in the 1940s and 50s. Floral, crisp and fruit-driven, it was delicious with refreshing acidity and a succulent mouthfeel.
Casal do Canteiro 2023, Casal do Canteiro
I was pleased to get a chance to taste a wine that has already featured as a wine of the week on this very website. Jonatán Pousada Álvarez’s blend of Treixadura y Torrontés is a tribute to his grandfather and the casal (a small mansion) where the winery is located.
Fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks, it was fresh with ripe citrus aromas and flavours, with some weight and toastiness from its time on lees.