2013 Do Ferreiro Albariño Rías Baixas Cepas Vellas

A true icon of Rías Baixas, the 2013 Albariño Do Ferreiro Cepas Vellas is pure Albariño from probably the oldest vineyards in the zone, in Spain and in the whole world, as they might be close to being 200 years old! The vines look more like trees because they are trained in the pergola style as is the norm in the region. As all his wines were fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and aged in contact with the lees for 11 months before being bottled. This wine is produced from a plot of extremely old vines that are planted next to his house and winery, basically from his garden. There's one hectare of vines there and volumes vary wildly as in the difficult years they have to do a severe selection and in some years the wine is not produced at all (like in 2014, 2012 or 2008) but in 2013 they managed to produce 8,000 bottles of it. You can see the complexity and depth of aromas as soon as you put your nose in the glass. Notes of waxy apples, fennel, aniseed (which Gerado says is one of the signs of a great vintage) and white apples emerge from the glass followed by a medium-bodied palate showing incredible concentration without feeling heavy. Everything here is more concentrated, including the acidity, it's a size (or three!) bigger than the Do Ferreiro, but all in balance and harmony. One of the greatest Albariños. Bravo! I also tasted the 2010 which is evolving slowly and it's already displaying notes of petrol; it was a wine with very high acidity and it has mellowed down tremendously. It's a real pleasure now. He was king enough to pop a 2006 from a torrid year and a summer when half of Galicia burnt down; it had a ripe smoky nose, less vibrant in the palate, but still holding it. It is an Albariño to lay down.