Rías Baixas, on the coast of Galicia in northwestern Spain, is the ancestral home of Albariño. Home to over 20,000 individual plots of vines, the landscape has been carved up over the centuries by inheritance laws that split property equally between all descendents. Here, the minifundio, or smallholding, reigns supreme—it’s common for each grower to farm a postage stamp-sized vineyard, which has meant that those without the means to start their own wineries have always had relationships with established wineries such as Do Ferreiro.
Manuel, or Manu, Méndez, is the heir to a long tradition of winemaking in the village of Meaño. His father, Gerardo, founded Bodegas Gerardo Méndez in the 1970s and was a pioneer in the creation of the Rías Baixas appellation in the late 1980s. Since then, their brand, Do Ferreiro, has been considered one of the best Albariños in the world. Since childhood, Manu and his older sister Encarna have helped their father with the gargantuan task of inspecting the 165 individual plots that go into Do Ferreiro, and watched as Gerardo coaxed his trusted growers into farming more sustainably. For three decades, some of Do Ferreiro’s most trusted suppliers have welcomed Manu into their tiny plots of vines, allowing him the space to experiment and continually push himself—and them—to improve.
Now, Manu has invited them to create something together, honoring the longstanding relationships his father began. Grapes for Amizade, which means ‘friendship’ in the Galician language, come from experimental plots farmed by Méndez family friends in the area around Meaño, planted between 8-10 years ago, which have just begun to produce mature fruit. Vinified by Manu in the Do Ferreiro winery, Amizade is a crisp, acidity-driven albariño, expressing the energy held in the sandy granitic soils and ocean fog that define this corner of Rías Baixas.
Region
Galicia
Appellation
Rías Baixas
Subzone
Salnés
Village
Meaño
Elevation
150-200m
Grapes
100% Albariño
Vine Age
8-10 years old
Soil
Decomposed granite & sand
Fermentation
Fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel, without malolactic fermentation
Aging
6-9 months on the fine lees in stainless steel
Farming
Practicing Organic
Vegan
Yes
ABV
13%
Pack Size
12x750mL