Many of our customers will of course know Rodri Méndez through his estate “Forjas del Salnés” and his wine “Leirana”.
Alongside his small estate Forjas del Salnés, he also runs an even smaller personal project, releasing several wines under his own name, “Rodri Méndez”.
These are outstanding Atlantic white wines!
Rodri makes some of Spain’s most vertical white wines. He is also constantly searching for new expressions of terroir.
After several years of trial vinifications, he once again releases a new cru.
And it is so good that we simply cannot resist buying it, even when the allocation is sometimes only 60 bottles.
And this
A Cruceira is a perfect example…
It comes from a gneiss terroir, a mixture of granite and quartz, in Xesteiriña, Sanxenxo, with vines more than 90 years old.
His saltiest wine to date!
Luis Gutiérrez, tasting for Robert Parker, noticed it too:
He immediately awarded it an impressive
96/100:“I love the 2023 A Cruceira, a single-vineyard Albariño from 90-year-old vines on gneiss soils in Xesteiriña in the village of Sanxenxo. It fermented in 225-liter old oak barrels, where it matured for 12 months. The nose is perfumed, nuanced and attractive, with a salty and spicy twist, and the medium-bodied palate has a serious and austere mouthfeel. It comes in at 12.5% alcohol, with lots of freshness and integrated acidity, not as sharp as I've seen in some past vintages. It's superb! The label mentions Iraia & Edu from Lagüiña lieu-dit. 1,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2024.
The wines from Meaño from Rodrigo Méndez produced in oak barrels are sold separately from Forjas del Salnés but produced by the same team in the same winery.”