Bodegas Albamar 2019 'Capitan Xurelo' Red, Rais Baixas

Bodegas Albamar 2019 'Capitan Xurelo' Red, Rais Baixas

Item Number: 17117

UPC: None

Country: Spain
Region: Galicia
Sub Region: Galicia
Appellation/AVA: Rias Baixas DO
Estate Grown Wine: Yes
Vintage: 2019
Grape(s): Mencía / Espadeiro / Caiño
Type: Wine - Red
Bottle Size: 750 ml
Pack: 12
Closure: Cork
Alc by Vol(%): 11
Viticulture: Practicing Organic
Soil Type: Clay, granite, and schist

Tasting Notes: Capitan Xurelo is a light, low ABV, chillable red that has crunchy minerality and lip-smacking acidity. It is one of Xurxo's rare red wines from Rías Baixas that consists of Mencía, Caiño Blanco, and Espadeiro. The grapes (40-100+ years in age) are all grown organically over a blend of clay, granite, and schist incredibly close to the Atlantic ocean and basically at sea level. Only 2 were barrels produced.

Vinification: Grapes are manually harvested before undergoing separate spontaneous fermentation with native yeast in stainless steel. It finished fermenting in neutral barrel and remained there until the next harvest (roughly 12 months), when it was transferred to stainless steel where it matured for a further 8 months. It was bottled unfined, unfiltered, and with low SO2.

Reviews

  • The Wine Advocate
    Rating: 90+ (2/28/2022)
    The 2019 Capitán Xurelo is a red blend from many different vineyards. It's produced like of the all reds here, with full clusters that were foot-trodden and fermented with indigenous yeasts. It finished fermenting in barrel and remained there until the next harvest, when it was transferred to stainless steel where it matured for a further eight months. Here, they look for a more austere, perhaps rustic profile. This has tons of notes of acid berries and is light to medium-bodied, with a minty and balsamic touch.