Adega de Vimbio - "Vimbio" Albariño 2021 750ml (12.5% ABV)

Martín Crusat, a biologist by trade, is living out his father’s dream of having a small winery. His father purchased a summer home in 1985 and promptly planted a hectare of Albariño there.  They named their project “Vimbio” which is Gallego for a type of local willow tree that was often used to tie the vines to their trellises. They treat their farm as an entire ecosystem and encourage plant and animal life to thrive amongst their vines, keeping their 2.5 hectares under green cover year-round.

Wild blackberry bushes dot the vineyards, and wildflowers proliferate in spring. Algae from the nearby Atlantic is used as a fertilizer, and many biodynamic practices are incorporated. 

Complex and gorgeous Albariño -honeysuckle, ripe white peach, celery leaf, salty sea-spray finish. Sourced from 30-35 year old vines in the Veque vineyard (located in O Rosal in southern Rias Baixas) which has clay and shale soils.

region: Rías Baixas, Spain

varietal(s): primarily Albariño with the rare and nearly extinct Caiño Branco added for acidity, and a bit of Loureiro for fruit and spice.

style: aromatic white

farming & cellar: lutte raisonee, grapes were hand-harvested and whole-cluster pressed immediately before undergoing fermentation and lees-aging in stainless steel tanks, stirred regularly only for the first three months. The finished wine was bottled without fining, and with a light filtration and minimal added SO2.

pairing: mussels with chorizo & pimenton, fluke crudo pickled shallots, blood orange, razor clams a la plancha.... all the yummy seafood things