The best wines of the D.O. Ribeira Sacra receive their prizes
The setting chosen to celebrate the food that gave the closing to the XXV edition of the Tasting of the Wines of the D.O. Ribeira Sacra was the Augas Santas Hotel and Spa at Pantón.
The tasting panel of this edition was composed of 11 tasters: Víctor Cortizo Fontán, Humberto Loureiro Argullós, Ana María Martín Abild, María Isabel Mijares and García de Pelayo, Star Gabriel Rodríguez, Miguel Ángel Martín, Francisco Sauco Sánchez-Casas, Manuel Ángel Capote Pérez, Waldo Carreiras Albo, José María Martínez Alonso and Adela Richer Moreno-Luque. Of the 67 wines presented, today 8 received a prize, which the tasting panel considered the best in this XXV edition.
In the category of white wines, 17 wines were presented and the winners were:
Third prize: Viña Vella by SAT Virxe dos Remedios
Second prize: As Glorias, Adegas Amedo
First prize: Abadía da Cova by Adegas Moure
In the category of red wines, 32 samples were presented and the winners were:
Third prize: Casa Moreiras Selection by Casa Moreiras S.L.
Second prize: Abadía da Cova by Adegas Moure
First prize: Cruceiro by the winery Ramón Marcos Fernández
In the Other Vintages category, 18 wines were presented, so two Gold Medals are established, by exceeding the 14 participating samples. The prizes went to: Capador, red wine summum barrica 2017 by the winery Manuela Valdés Pérez and Sollío, Mencía barrica 2017 by the winery Juan Alberto Álvarez Rodríguez.
Authorities representatives of the different public administrations, were in charge of delivering the prizes which was a Gundivós ceramic bottles.
Cata de los vinos de Ribeira Sacra
The tasters of the tasting panel highlighted the quality of the wines and praised the qualities and characteristics that make differents the wines of the D.O.R.S.
Francisco Sauco Sánchez-Casas, President of the Extremadura Academy of Gastronomy, highlighted the personality of the wines tasted, "They are wines with a lot of personality, some varieties that give very tasty white wines and special red wines. I know the landscape and the difficulty of cultivation areas, that's what gives these wines personality. They are exceptional wines of unique personality, that arise from a part of the Spanish territory that is very special, with that heroic viticulture so difficult ".
María Isabel Mijares and García de Pelayo, Founder and Vice President of the Spanish Union of Tasters highlighted "the tasting is in the level of any of the international tastings we attend. The level of the wines is also incredible, we have noticed some qualities and levels of wines that it is difficult to choose one easily. From this tasting I conclude that the Mencía is able to age, because we have tasted wines from other vintages that are spectacularly good. I would highlight the wines of this Denomination its aromatic character that the wines have for their specific microclimate. In the case of white wines, I would highlight how the variety is handled by extracting the maximum; they are white wines that have body, that stay; It is not the typical light white wine. They are white wines with a very wide mouth. They are white wines with which you could eat, even, many meats. In red wines, because of the microclimate, we have the purity of the tannic expression of red wines, if in some cases the wines do not have it, it is a technical problem ".
Víctor Cortizo Fontán, Representative of the Galician Association of Winemakers, spoke of the minerality and potentiality of the wines tasted, "I was positively surprised, in general. Ribeira Sacra has different areas and that is reflected in the wines. The minerality of the mencías is very marked, for me it is one of its main characteristics. There is a very great potential in viticulture here that brings a grape that gives magnificent wines. Almost no D.O. of red wines from Spain can say what Ribeira Sacra can say about young wines, they have a potential in themselves that in other D.O. they win thanks to the barrel, but here that potential is already in the young wines. But I must also say that two of the best scores I put in were two barrels, there are spectacular wines. In godellos I see a lot of fruit and very broad mouths, with a very balanced acidity, very well integrated, that does not bother me; They are very pleasant wines in the mouth".