*2021 - RP 95

The 2021 Lousas Vinas de Aldea is a regional red from Ribeira Sacra but is sold without appellation of origin. It was produced with 80% Mencia and some 20% Merenzao, Brancellao, Caino, Souson, Mouraton, Alicante, Godello and Palomino, etc., from vines ranging from 25 to 60 years of age to represent the region and vintage. The grapes were picked between September 12th and 28th and vinified in concrete and small plastic bins with 70% to 100% full clusters, depending on the plot, and matured in well-seasoned oak barrels of different ages with lees for 11 months without racking or added sulfur. It's a truly Atlantic vintage, with a profile similar to 2018, 2016, 2014 - vertical and fine-grained, textured and with finesse, balance and freshness. In general, the 2021s feel more austere and reductive, flintier. 25,975 bottles and 420 magnums were produced. It was bottled in November 2022.

The wines from Envinate, one of the most dynamic projects in Spain, are increasingly sought after in international markets. So, from now on, I will start tasting the wines every 12 months, giving a preview of the unbottled wines from the last harvest and the bottled ones in the market. From Ribeira Sacra, it's the bottled 2021s and the 2022s in barrel, two very different harvests. There are two new village wines from 2021, a vintage with good yields again. 2021 is a cool, classical vintage that shows quite transparently the character of the places, while the 2022s are a little rounder and more immediate, even if they ended up being much fresher than initially expected. 2020 was an earlier harvest (2017 was the earliest ever). In 2022, they started early, and in 2023 they started early too but then it was a long harvest because they had to stop because of the rain.