Doña Blanca

“Who do you belong to?”, quite literally. Vino de Pueblo — the Spanish equivalent of a “village wine” — crafted from old vines and made exclusively from the traditional grape varieties of the region. It’s also an ethical wine, made through crowdfunding to support and empower local farmers. A highly distinctive and characterful wine. The Tardana vineyards are between 60 and 70 years old, planted on parcels at 400 metres altitude, primarily on limestone and clay soils. The Macabeo comes from vines that are 30 to 50 years old, planted at 700 metres, also on limestone and clay. The other white grapes are field blends from vines aged between 80 and 100 years, on similar soils as the previously mentioned varieties.

Alanda is the entry-level white wine of José Luis Mateo and showcases the range of white grape varieties he has recovered in the region. He has done remarkable work bringing these nearly forgotten varieties back into focus. All his wines are made organically. It is a typical “village wine”, with a production of around 10,000 bottles.

Cobrana comes from a different village than Valtuille. It consists of several parcels around the village of Cobrana at 700 metres altitude. Here the soils are not sandy but composed of blue slate with clay. Verónica mainly works with field blends, very traditional for the region, with about 25% white grapes co-fermented with the reds. This co-fermentation results in a “Blouge” profile, a contraction of blanc and rouge, creating a wine that sits between white and red. This gives the wines from Cobrana a more Burgundian character, whereas those from Valtuille show a more Rhône-like profile.

Gorvia is the name of an enclave in Monterrei. The vineyard was planted by José Luis Mateo’s father in 1985 and has a southern exposure. The wines of the estate are vinified biodynamically.

The smoky and leesy 2019 Gorvia Blanco is a single-vineyard white from a classified vineyard, the first one he planted 38 years ago with trellises and later transformed to goblet. It's one hectare on a slope by the Monterrei Castle on decomposed and complex slate soils, mostly Dona Blanca with 5% Treixadura and Verdello Antiguo. It fermented in a 1,500-liter foudre and a 500-liter barrel, all used and neutral, where the wine is kept with lees for one year, then blended and put in stainless steel for one more year. It feels young and undeveloped; it's still pale and primary, with notes of herbs and fennel, crushed stones and a balanced palate with precision, delineation and purity and with a very tasty finish. The variety is considered quite neutral but does reflect the character of the place quite faithfully ... at least when worked like this! Bravo! 2,500 numbered bottled were filled in November 2021.

La Vizcaína is a project by Raúl Pérez in which the wines are classified according to their origin, terroir, orientation to the sun, etc... La Vizcaína is the nickname given by the locals to Raúl's father, who was also an oenologist, but who died young. Raúl is assisted in this venture by his niece Nerea Pérez. ‘La del Vivo’ is a rare white wine made primarily from old Godello vines planted in 1916. The parcels behind this wine are rooted in sandy and clay soils. Located in the "Loma de Poulosa" plot at over 600 metres altitude, the vineyard benefits from an optimal exposure – which explains the aromatic richness both on the nose and on the palate.

“ROC” was the first wine Verónica made in this region in 2010. It is a tribute to her brother Roberto, who passed away at a young age. It comes from two parcels (El Couso and La Rata) located in Valtuille de Abajo, on poor sandy soils with quartz debris. The vines are 80 years old. This blend made from the best terroirs of Valtuille can bear the "vino de Pueblo" mention. This was has not a big extract, but it is typical of the Mencía grape.