2018 Viña Mein Tinto

Javier Alen is the pioneer of the Treixadura in this historically important appellation of Galicia (Ribeiro). 2015 was a very important year for him, as he decided to take up the team of Comando G for a thorough makeover of his wines. The results are impressive. The wines now have even more personality, purity and fine minerality.

The white Viña Mein 2017 comes from various old authentic vineyards around the bodega. Together a plot of 9 ha in the Valle del Avia with southwest orientation. The soil is granite and the vineyard for the white wine is on the banks of the Avia (the red wines were traditionally planted on the other side). The vineyards are on typical Galician granite soil with a shallow vegetation layer on top of between 70 to 100 cm, often with very little organic material. The top layer mainly consists of 'sábrego', a mixture of clay and sand consisting of granite granules. The result of millions of years of erosion of the big 'bolos' or giant boulders. The bodega is built against one of these bolos: a giant boulder of more than 5 m high.

The location in the valley ensures that there is a big difference between day and night, often up to 20 ° C difference, which ensures that the grapes mature perfectly and slowly, so that there is more aroma and concentration. There is quite a lot of sun and little rainfall according to Galician standards. Quite a lot of thunderstorms at the end of the summer and heavy frost during the winter. There are also many days with fog.

From 2015 the Viando Mein philosophy is applied as a vinification: biodynamics, non-interventionist, native yeasts and from 2018 Viña Mein is in the hands of the Pago de Carraovejas group, which also includes Emilio Roja the famous Verdejo wines from Ossian .

Viña Mein is a typical Gallic red wine made from native grapes with 60% Caiño Longo, 35% Brancellao (Albarello), 4% Souson, 1% Tintilla. The manual harvest takes place in small trays with thorough selection in the vineyard itself by experienced pickers. The harvest is 2x so that the optimum ripening is achieved for the grapes. Then another selection upon arrival of the grapes in the bodega. The grapes are not untreated. Maceration and fermentation takes place in large holding foudres according to the non-interventionist principle with only native yeasts. The wine can then mature for approximately 11 months in oak barrels of 500 liters (never new). Only a few thousand bottles are made from the Viña Mein. The wine has a clear red color in the glass. It is a red wine with a clear Atlantic sea injection so elegance, power, freshness, minerality and a little salty. Balsamic notes in the nose of eucalyptus and spices, laurel, with beautiful violet notes and red currant. Fairly direct in the mouth, tight, vertical with a nice vibrating end. A beautiful elegant red wine which you should certainly carve into his boyhood.

Viña Mein winery

Viña Mein is the personal project of Javier Alen, pioneer of the Ribeiro region. Since 2014, he has had the help of the young wolves from Comando G, who turn the entire domain into biodynamics and go for a fresher, mineral style. Without a doubt the best of the Treixadura!

The Ribeiro appellation is the oldest appellation in Galicia. The green province of Ourense has a long history in viticulture. Already in the 12th century, the wines of Ribeiro were known throughout Spain. The Treixadura grape in particular played a major role in this.

Javier Alen, owner of Viña Mein, is without a doubt the pioneer of the Treixadura revival. As a young boy, Javier has spent up to 6 years in Leiro, a small village near the monastery of San Clodio. Afterwards, his parents went to Madrid, but the memory of his native region revived every summer as the family moved to the ancestral home in Leiro for three months. Javier was a lawyer in Madrid for over 15 years, but in the end he turned his life around: he founded a bookstore in Madrid specialized in travel literature and in 1987 he returned to Leiro to become a winegrower. He completely restored the old Pazo of Viña Mein into a beautiful hotel and a small wine estate.

Today, Viña Mein is the frontrunner of the new white wines from Ribeiro. The Treixadura in coupage with other typical grape varieties guarantees fresh and mineral white wines. A small amount of red wines are also made with the typical grape varieties. Since the beginning of 2019, Viña Mein has been part of the Pago de Carreavojas group, which includes Emilio Rooja and Ossian as well as the famous ribera wines from Carrraovejas.

Treixadura is the main grape. This ripens slowly and is not resistant to planting at a high altitude. The skin is coarse and hard (hence its name). The acidity is perfect, full of floral aromas and notes of fruit. The Treixadura is supplemented in its coupage with other grape varieties, some of which we also find in other Galician regions. About 12 hectares are planted in Viña Mein.

Godello (1.8 ha) is the grape that is best suited for ripening at a high altitude. This grape has a short cycle and produces small grapes, a grape variety that thrives perfectly against the slopes of the valley.

Albariño (0.5 ha) occurs to a very limited extent. This grape gives strength and at the same time finesse to the wines. Moreover, this grape can combine high alcohol levels with a lot of acidity, which is exceptional.

Torrontés (0.6 ha) is an old variety that used to be widespread in Spain. This grape gives freshness and a slightly bitter aftertaste. Torrontés is rather light in structure, making the coupage of a grape with a lot of structure such as Lado perfect.

Lado (0.2 ha) is a grape of clear Atlantic origin, but has become very rare. This grape has the perfect capacity to combine high alcoholic strengths with high acidity (such as Albariño), aromatic, but less fine and exotic than the Albariño.

Loureira (0.8 ha) is a cépage whose roots are hard to find and which is very different from many other typical Atlantic grape varieties. Nevertheless, Loureira was traditionally planted in Ribeiro. Yet this grape is not immediately suitable for monovarietal wines, due to very low alcohol contents, many bitters and high acids. The grape was mainly planted because of its high aromatic potential with great complexity; his name also refers to it (Loureira is Galician for laurel). That is why a small amount in a coupage can add a lot. The beautiful spiciness that we find in the Viña Mein also comes from this grape variety.

Finally, Albilla (0.2 ha) is a minor grape that mainly applies glycerol to the delicate honey aromas.

Vinification
Harvesting is done manually. Cold maceration. The grapes are manipulated as little as possible. The normal Viña Mein is then fermented on stainless steel cuves. With the grapes from the best plots, a ripening is carried out on large, kept 500 and 600 liter (French oak) feeds. The élevage on the yeast cells lasts about 6-9 months, with regular bontages.

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