Dominio do Bibei - Lalama Ribeira Sacra 2021 (750ml)
Price: $28.99
Producer | Dominio do Bibei |
Country | Spain |
Region | Galicia |
Subregion | Ribeira Sacra |
Varietal | Red Blend |
Vintage | 2021 |
Sku | 7562 |
Mostly Mencía, with Brancellao, Mouratón, Sousón, and Garnacha Tintorera. Grapes are harvested from a variety of steep, terraced sites on both slate and clay. Fermented with indigenous yeasts in large open-top wood vats. Aged in neutral barrel for 20 months.
Dominio do Bibei Description
Dominio do Bibei is the domaine of reference in the lesser-known Quiroga-Bibei subzone of Galicia’s Ribeira Sacra. Proprietor Javier Domínguez and team are sparing no pains in making their best wines ever from back-breakingly beautiful terraced vineyards at up to 500-600 meters above sea level. Plantings are mostly to Mencía but other indigenous varieties like Mouratón and Brancellao are cultivated assiduously, vinified separately, and prized for their character in blends. The whites, produced from the higest plots, are also revelatory.
The winery is one of silence, beauty, and a distinct lack of technology– this is a gentle transformation from grapes to wine, entirely by gravity in descending levels of neutral wooden vessels.
Wine Advocate: 93 Points
The very approachable young red 2021 Lalama has notes of wild berries, flowers and herbs that talk about the Mencía grape (it has 15% other varieties) and the dramatic conditions of the Ribeira Sacra vineyards, with a honeyed twist. It's medium-bodied, has fine tannins and is nicely textured, with a bitter twist in the finish. It has 13% alcohol, a pH of 3.7 with 4.8 grams of acidity. This is very drinkable and approachable and always represents a good value and great introduction to the zone and the portfolio. It was bottled in August 2023 after it matured in 300- and 500-liter French oak barrels, 10% of them new, and in 1,500- and 3,000-liter oak foudres for 15 months.