Winemaker Notes
A wine that expresses the exuberance of the Ribeiro landscape and its surroundings. The Viña Meín vineyard plots are a mosaic of pieces that make up an exceptional varietal richness, a unique wine and cultural heritage. Incredibly complex, this medium-bodied and energetic white offers fresh and delicate citrus, stone fruit and floral aromas. Lively, round and elegant on the palate with a crisp acidity that balances the fruits and structure.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This medium-straw-colored wine has aromas of pineapple, honeysuckle and slivered ginger. It is bright from the first sip, offering flavors of grapefruit, passion fruit, rose petal and a hint of oyster shell. Vivid floral and tropical-fruit and flavors linger.
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Vinous
The 2020 Gran Mein from Val do Avia in Ribeiro blends Treixadura, Lado, Godello, Albariño, Caíño Blanco, Torrontés and Loureira. Intense yellow in color, it reveals ripe apricot, herbs and bay leaf aromas. Delicate yet flavorful, it’s creamy and enveloping on the palate.
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Wine Spectator
A harmonious white, with sleek acidity framing finely knit flavors of melon, preserved lemon, white pepper and minerally petrol and flint. Well-cut and long on the creamy finish. Treixadura, Albariño, Loureiro, Godello and Torrontés.
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.