2020 Manuel Moldes A Capela de Aios Albarino, Rias Baixas, Spain Corkhoarder

A Capela de Aios is named after the tiny capela (church) in the small hamlet of Aios, located outside the Ría de Pontevedra. The vineyards sit on a mound of schist, a unique rock formation in a largely granite land, which Manuel says makes up 99.9% of all the vineyard area within the Val do Salnés. He’s drawn to the expression of wines from this hill, not only because they are rare, but because they bring a very different shape and dimension to Albariño than those grown on granite soils. This wine attacks and finishes like classic schist wines: a strongly mineral and metallic pressure directly on the back and side palate, almost skipping the front entirely by comparison. (Granite wines tend to be the opposite with more of a frontal attack and finish on the palate.) There it rests on the palate with dense salty characteristics and an electric feeling while remaining tight, dry and focused. Not surprisingly it has a strong relation in taste and feel to a Chenin Blanc grown on the schist soils of the Anjou—particularly a dry Chenin from the Côteaux du Layon. It’s fermentated with natural yeasts and aged in 500-700-liter neutral French oak barrels for nine to eleven months, depending on the vintage.

The grapes are whole bunch pressed in basket press for thirty minutes, then the grape must is settled and racked off after 24-48 hours. The first sulfite addition (20-25g/l) is administered in the press and the natural fermentation in 500-700-liter neutral French oak barrels. The fermentation temperature usually stays below 24°C. The barrels have no temperature control device inside, only the natural temperature in the cold cellar to regulate—the larger thermal mass allows for a higher natural temperature than smaller barrels. Fermentation is usually 30-45 days and afterward the wine is racked off its gross lees. Malolactic fermentation is not desired and rarely happens.

Aged in 500-700-liter neutral French oak barrels for 9-11 months.