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One of Rías Baixas’ preeminent producers, Manuel Moldes crafts finely tuned, deeply technical wines. His Albariños highlight local schist and granite sites close to the Atlantic in the Rías Baixas subzone, Val do Salnés, to illuminate the differences between these rock types in the final products. The Albariños ferment and age in a combination of steel and old French oak barrels. The red winemaking follows the simplicity in the cellar of Albariños, though they involve the art of blending grape varieties from numerous terroirs. Reds often have some stem inclusion and are fermented and aged in a combination of steel and older oak barrels.
One of Rías Baixas’ preeminent producers, Manuel Moldes crafts finely tuned, deeply technical wines. His Albariños highlight local schist and granite sites close to the Atlantic in the Rías Baixas subzone, Val do Salnés, to illuminate the differences between these rock types in the final products. The Albariños ferment and age in a combination of steel and old French oak barrels. The red winemaking follows the simplicity in the cellar of Albariños, though they involve the art of blending grape varieties from numerous terroirs. Reds often have some stem inclusion and are fermented and aged in a combination of steel and older oak barrels.
VINEYARD DETAILS
Albariño “Afelio” is a blend of parcels with an average age of over fifty years (2023). The parcels face in all directions at 15-90m on a mix of expansive terraces of granite bedrock and topsoil.
CELLAR NOTES
Natural fermentation and aging in steel and neutral oak at 21°C max. ML is not desired and rarely happens. Aged 8 months in steel and 2 months in old 228-500L French oak. First sulfites added at press. Fined and filtered.
Manuel Moldes’ Albariño Afelio is the embodiment of a classically styled Salnés Albariño: elegant tension, aromatic lift and the Atlantic influence with its salt, rain, ocean life, rock grinding waves, and cool brisk air. A set of tiny parcels scattered throughout the heart of the Val do Salnés between Meaño and Cambados grown on granite soils, the vines are trained on overhead pergolas supported by vertical granite posts with horizontal wood beams. Behind the veil of electricity the wine is simply crafted and the hand of the winemaker deft, but the interpretation is unique and subtly expressive. This wine represents the far western pole of electric whites across Europe, from the Loire Valley, Austria and down into the granite islands of Corsica and Sardinia. The fermentation is made in small stainless steel tanks and old French oak barrels. After fermentation it’s aged for eight months and then bottled.
