2019 Ladeiras do Xil 'Falcoeira' Branco

Aromas of white peach, lemon oil, chamomile, and flint lead into a concentrated, medium-bodied palate. Flavors of green apple, citrus peel, and mountain herbs mesh with hints of beeswax and wet granite. The texture is broad yet linear, balanced by sharp natural acidity and a long, saline finish.

Farmed organically on steep, hand-rebuilt stone terraces with bush-trained vines and strictly manual labor. Hand-harvested fruit undergoes native yeast fermentation in 225-liter and 500-liter French oak barrels. Malolactic fermentation is blocked to preserve natural tension, aging 10 months in oak before bottling unfined and unfiltered.

Grapes come from a 0.45-hectare parcel in the Falcoeira vineyard in Santa Cruz, within Galicia’s Valdeorras DO. This field-blend site is planted to Godello, Doña Branca, and Palomino at 400 to 600 meters elevation. Vines grow in decomposed granite soils on southwest-facing slopes above the Bibei River.