Louro 2018

Grape varieties : 96% Godello, 4% Treixadura

Alcohol : 14%

Guard : 1-5 years

An elegant and refined white to enjoy with roast pork, fish pie, oven-grilled octopus, vegetable tian, steamed salmon or even with a nice piece of Reblochon.

The history of wine in Spain is so old that no one really knows who brought the first vines to the region. When the Phoenicians arrived some 3,000 years ago and founded the present-day cities of Cádiz and Jerez, viticulture was well established and Spanish wines were widely marketed throughout the Mediterranean and North Africa.



You could say that Spain is a wine miracle. After years spent away from the world of fine wines, she is today a major player. Investment and ambition in the vineyards and cellars results in increasingly rich and complex (often very alcoholic) and spicy reds which are increasingly appreciated by international consumers.



Proud to have more land devoted to vines than any other country, Spain is only beginning to capitalize on this resource consistently. Spain is an anarchic tangle of regions and sub-regions, just as its landscape is an anarchic tangle of incredibly raw landscapes. A glance at a map reveals the climatic diversity among Spain's many wine regions, from the soggy green vineyards of Galicia on the northern Atlantic coast to the toasty vineyards of southeastern the Mediterranean. Spain's saving grace, in terms of viticulture, is the average altitude of its vineyards, above 600 meters. A large part of Spanish vineyards therefore manage to produce grapes of good color and acidity simply because night temperatures are relatively low and the grapes do not ripen until the end of a sufficiently long growing period.



But there is real treasure to be found for those willing to dig and, now that a class of connoisseurs has developed in Spain, all manner of ambitious investors have done their part to change the image of Spanish wine . Today, a new generation of winemakers has quietly begun making spectacular wines and experimenting with grape varieties that would have been unthinkable just a short time ago. Wine remains an important commodity and is an integral part of Spanish culture.

Galicia


Viticulture is a long-standing tradition in Galicia, introduced to the region by the ancient Romans and continued by monks throughout the Middle Ages. Today, Galicia is best known for its Rias Baixas wines – crisp, aromatic whites made primarily from Albarino. Shaped by the waves and winds of the Atlantic, the Galician coastline is spectacular; from steep cliffs to coastal coves known as rías. The interior of the region is characterized by rolling green hills that climb gently towards the east. The region is often called the "green corner" of Spain, and the "land of two thousand rivers". The cool, humid winds that blow from the Atlantic make Galicia one of the wettest regions of Spain. Coastal areas receive more than 1300 mm of rain per year. Fortunately, Galicia benefits from abundant sunshine (more than 2000 hours of sunshine per year on average), without which the grapes would have great difficulty ripening. Despite this, very few red grapes can reach full maturity here, so Galicia mainly produces white wines, both varietal and blended.


The sub-region: Valdeorras


Valdeorras is a wine-growing area located on the easternmost fringe of Galicia in northwestern Spain. Its location has earned it the unofficial title of "Gateway to Galicia". As the most inland region of Galicia, Valdeorras has a predominantly continental climate, with hot summers, cold winters and mild autumns and springs, although the Atlantic Ocean to the west also exerts an influence. The best vineyards receive plenty of sun and heat during the growing season and produce the highest quality wines. Average precipitation is high, with around 900 mm of rain per year. Here we find a combination of alluvial, limestone, clay-ferrous, granite and slate soils. These factors, combined with an altitude between 300 m and 700 m, make Valdeorras the most suitable region for the production of dry white wines. The two most emblematic grape varieties of the region are Godello for whites and Mencia for reds.