Winemaker Notes
This is a very complex and age-worthy vinho branco with a lovely balance between structured, lush quince fruit and vivid mineral flavors.
A noble wine to pair with lobster, crab, game and pork dishes.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Among the best vintages of this bottling, the 2012 Viña de Martín Escolma is a selection from the oldest vineyards on poorer soils that yield no more than one kilo of fruit per plant. It's a blend of Treixadura, Albariño, Lado and Torrontés fermented with indigenous yeasts in oak barrels of different sizes, as the different vineyards are fermented separately. The wines are blended one year later and are fined, filtered and bottled; the bottles are kept for three years before being released. By the time the wine reaches us it has developed all the complexity of bottle aging with notes of diesel, pollen, beeswax, wet granite and spices. The palate shows very good balance and acidity for a warm vintage with superb depth and complexity. This is a world class Ribeiro with length and minerality. Bravo!
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
Located in the central and southern part of the northwest Spanish region of Galicia, Ribeiro is experiencing a revival thanks to the distinctive wines they produce with native red and white grapes. White wine accounts for 85% of all production in the region with principal white grape varieties as Treixadura, Albariño, Godello, Torrontés and Loureira. Ribeiro’s red grape varieties are Caiño Longo, Caiño Tinto, Caiño Bravo, Ferrón, Sousón, Brancellao and Mencía. Ribeiro's red wines are not quite as popular their white counterparts. The region obtained DO status in 1932.
Immense innovation and investment are now evident throughout the DO, both in the large cooperatives and in the smaller bodegas. An interesting aspect of the area is that many small, independent producers called colleteiros, make wine traditionally from their own grapes.