Guímaro A Ponte 2021
£33.21 (Inc. VAT bot. 75 cl.) / North Ireland
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I found very ripe plums in the nose of the 2021 A Ponte, despite the fresh palate and the moderate 13% alcohol. The vineyard that gives the wine its name was planted in 2010 with equal parts of Mencía, Caíño Redondo, Caíño Longo, Sousón, Brancellao and Merenzao. It matured in used 500-liter French oak barrels for one year. 5,000 bottles were filled in August 2023.
Features
Type of wine
Pairings
Style
Occasions
Appellation
Alcohol
13.5%
Grapes
Serving
Between 14ºC and 16ºC
Winemaking
Fermented with indigenous yeasts and full clusters. Aged for 12 months in old French oak barrels.
Description
High up on the slopes of Amandi, where the Ribeira Sacra becomes steeper and the Sil meanders between slate walls, Pedro Rodríguez saw an opportunity. In 2010, he decided to plant a small plot - A Ponte - on a stony, quartz granite and slate terrain, in the coolest and highest area of the region. It was not the easiest place, but it was the most authentic. There, he recovered an old varietal heritage: 30% Mencía, with equal parts Caiño Redondo, Caiño Longo, Sousón, Brancellao and Merenzao (Trousseau), a blend that speaks of Galicia's rural past and the future of Atlantic wine.
Guímaro, which means "rebel" in Galician, is more than a name: it is an inherited attitude. Since the days when the family sold wine in bulk in demijohns, Pedro has always chosen the less obvious path. His respect for the land and his decision to work without compromise define this wine.
Winemaking
The grapes for Guímaro A Ponte, harvested by hand, are fermented with indigenous yeasts in open vats of used French oak, without destemming: whole cluster and traditional treading. After fermentation, the wine spends more than a year in 500-litre barrels, also used. There is no fining or filtration. Only a slight touch of sulphur dioxide at bottling. The aim: to intervene as little as possible and let the vineyard speak.
Taste
Guímaro A Ponte is Galicia bottled. On the nose, it combines tart red fruit -cherry, redcurrant- with faint floral notes (violets, lavender) and a background of herbs and wet stone. The palate is taut and vertical, with vibrant acidity and fine, tight-grained tannins. The minerality dominates: you can feel the slate, the quartz, the altitude. It is a serious wine, with a fine line, which grows with air. The finish is long, saline, with echoes of macerated fruit, damp earth and a whisper of smoke. It does not seek to seduce, but to move. Guímaro A Ponte is not to be drunk in a hurry; it is to be listened to.
Shipping to North Ireland
50% discount on orders over £352.85Estimated transit time: 4-5 working days.
| Bottles | Price | Over £352.85 |
|---|---|---|
| 1-6 | £11.38 | £5.69 (-£5.69) |
| 7-12 | £15.44 | £7.72 (-£7.72) |
| 13-18 | £21.61 | £10.81 (-£10.81) |
| 19-24 | £29.55 | £14.78 (-£14.78) |
| 25-30 | £34.31 | £17.16 (-£17.16) |
| 31-36 | £38.37 | £19.19 (-£19.19) |
| 37-42 | £46.31 | £23.16 (-£23.16) |
| 43-48 | £50.72 | £25.36 (-£25.36) |
| 49-54 | £57.29 | £28.65 (-£28.65) |
| 55-60 | £61.57 | £30.79 (-£30.79) |
| VAT included | ||
