Winemaker Notes
The nose shows no fruit, as if the wine was made of stones, serious and austere, still young and undeveloped. The medium-bodied palate fills your mouth and coats its inside with fennel and wet stone flavors and a clean thread of fine acidity that makes it intense and long. This is just plain great and should develop in bottle gaining in complexity and mellowing down. Super fresh and mineral, with very high potential.
This wine has a freshness and acidity that make it a great match with shellfish, deep sea fish, and chicken dishes prepared with Spanish, Latin and Pan-Asian spices. This wine's easy drinking nature also makes it a natural for casual tapas, small plates and sipping on its own.
Blend: 30% Dona Blanca, 30% Treixadura, 30% Verdello, 10% Monstruosa de Monterrei
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
The Monterrei wine region in the northwestern region of Galicia on the border of Portugal takes its name from 'Monterrey', which means “the king's mountain” in Castilian; Monterrei is the Galician spelling. The hilltop fortress of the area overlooks the vineyards, which run north to south. Compared to other regions, the area was awarded DO status later, in 1996, although it had won provisional DO status in the 1970s.
There is a slow comeback of native grapes and winemaking styles like those in other parts of Galicia—fresh, fruity white wines and young Mencía-based red wines. While there is new investment coming into the region's small family and cooperative bodegas, much of the wine is still sold in bulk and work with native varieties is still in the early stages, but pioneering bodegas are showing the potential of the vineyards. The DO supports this by awarding the Monterrei Superior label to wines made with 85% of any native variety.
The principal white wine varieties are Doña Blanca, Godello and Treixadura while the red wines are made primarily from Mencía and Bastardo (Trousseau).
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.