Winemaker Notes

Highly regarded for crafting world-class white wines from albariño with incredible transparency, flavor, and depth, Do Ferreiro has become a reference point for the variety. They farm over 175 tiny plots of albariño by hand, all located in the heart of the Salnés subzone of Rías Baixas. The valley’s proximity to the ocean, ideal climate due to the natural protection by mountain ranges, and decomposed granitic soil have gained the reputation for being the ideal region in Rías Baixas for producing profound, terruño-driven albariño wines capable of improving in bottle. Do Ferreiro does not blend other grape varieties into their albariño wines, as is common in Rías Baixas. Farming is practicing organic, and fermentations are exclusively carried out by native yeasts.

With their limited single-vineyard series, Do Ferreiro winemaker Manuel Méndez continues the exploration of Salnés Valley’s potential by isolating exceptional vineyards and exploring how different soils, elevations, and exposures translate into world-class white wine. Do Ferreiro’s single vineyards demonstrate that the terruño of Rías Baixas is multidimensional and complex, yielding singular wines capable of improving in bottle for a decade or more. These singular expressions are available once a year in very limited quantities.

Lourido is a 65+ year-old albariño vineyard planted on decomposed granite soils near the town of O Facho in the Salnés subzone of Rías Baixas, just 200 meters from the Ría de Arousa, facing the Isla de la Toja. The roots of the vines are able to easily penetrate the decayed, friable granite and dig very deep into the soil, ideal for producing structured white wine. This site is in a protected valley which does not get fog, so the minerality, fruit and terroir components of the site are entirely transparent. The vines here are pergola-trained, using a Cazanave-Marcón pruning style. Lourido is a lively, fresh Albariño with citrus, white fruit and dried herb aromas. The palate has excellent acidity, good tension and an intense, long finish. Capable of developing in bottle for 10 years or more.

Vinification – Bunches are hand-selected in the vineyard, handpicked, and placed in small crates. Grapes are destemmed, cold-macerated for a few hours, and pressed. A natural yeast fermentation begins using a pied de cuve from the winery’s historic Cepas Vellas vineyard, followed by aging on the lees for nine months without bâtonnage in stainless steel tanks. No malolactic fermentation, unfiltered, light bentonite fining.