Do Ferreiro Albarino

Ben noted about this wine back in 2014: 

If there was ever any doubt in your mind whether old vines matter, just try a bottle of this.  These vines are a one-acre plot of Albariño named Cepas Vellas, in the Salinas zone of Rias Baixas, Galicia, Spain. 

The resulting wine is, without a doubt, explosive: right from the cork pull, a massive aroma fills the room with lemon zest, oceanic salt spray, tangerines, neroli, grilled shrimp, kombu, granite and evergreen trees moistened by coastal rain. 

But even more amazing, this wine is not “flashy.”  Meaning it’s not oaked up, it’s not juiced up with residual sugar, it’s not put in a pressurized evaporator / concentrator to make it bigger.  It’s just old vines with such an extraordinarily low yield that the flavors of the fruit are intense and beautiful. 

This beauty continues on the palate: it’s lean and elegant, not zingy and overly acidic. The wine is graceful, lively, and refreshing.  The flavors echo the nose, and if you want to explore, there is much to explore.  But if you want to just pound it with a bowl of mussels, it’s extraordinary. 

Do Ferreiro is run by third-generation winemaker Gerardo Mendez.  If you are wondering about the name, Gerardo’s grandfather was an ironworker – and ferrous / ferreiro means iron.

While there are many Albariño on the market, Gerardo believes that it is in Salinas (one of three major sub-zones of Rias Baixas) where the vines give you the acidity – and therefore the age-ability – to make great Albariño. 

He usually makes two wines: Albariño and Albariño Cepas Vellas.  The Cepas is 250-year-old vines.  The Albariño is the rest of the production (50- to 249-year-old vines).  However, in 2012 there was devastating hail – 70% of the entire production of both was lost.  Gerardo decided that the best course of action was to blend them together.  I think the result is stunning.  

I have to admit, I am pretty pumped about this wine. 

Why?  Frankly, it’s so darn good and so darn cheap.  Right here, right in this bottle is a massive amount of drinking pleasure at an extraordinarily low price.  I love this kind of wine. 

Do Ferreiro has been out of the Wisconsin market since the end of Grapes & Grain, and I am happy to be the store to bring it back.  Stock up and enjoy as much as you can!