Silice Viticultores Tinto 2020, Ribeira Sacra, Spain

Fredi Torres makes these wines with a focus on field blends that produce energetic bright wines. They are near Sober in Amandi on mixed soils that have some schist and some granite. As the name implies, Silice is organized around the winegrowers of Ribeira Sacra, whose intense manual work on the vertiginous slopes that line the Sil River Canyon is the lifeblood of the project. Silice currently works with a total of 8 hectares of vines (1.5 hectare of which belongs to Juan and Carlos) planted primarily on granite, with some schist and gneiss parcels, in the zones of Amandi, Doade, and Rosende. All of the vineyards are farmed organically, with copper and sulfur treatments applied as needed. Like many top producers in the region, Silice chooses to work outside of the D.O. Ribeira Sacra. 2020 vintage: 77% Mencia, 18% Garnacha Tintorera, 5% Merenzao and whites. Vinification: Native yeast fermentation with 30% stems and 14 days maceration in concrete lagars, stainless steel tank and old fudre. Aging: Aged for 12 months on the fine lees in a combination of fudre, concrete and stainless steel. Notes: Dramatic decrease in production this vintage with the elimination of purchased fruit from the project. 29mg/L Total SO2