Sal da Terra Albariño, Eulogio Pomares 2020

A collaboration with Ben Henshaw from Indigo Wines in the UK and his friends Daniel Primack and Jamie Goode, the 2020 Sal da Terra is an Albariño that was produced by blending two different wines to showcase the salinity of the Salnés Valley. The name of the wine means "salt from the earth" in Gallego. The first wine comes from the Carballoso vineyard in the highest part of Meaño, 35-year-old vines on granitic sand sabre soils, and it fermented in a 1,200-liter chestnut vat where it was kept with the lees for nine months. The second wine comes from the Francón vineyard in the mouth of the Umia River touching the sea in Castrelo, and it fermented in a 1,500-liter raw concrete vat where it matured for nine months with the lees but without bâtonnage and with full malolactic. The two wines were blended and kept for three months to get assembled. This is riper at 13.6% alcohol and powerful but with high acidity and great freshness. It has some balsamic notes redolent of bay leaf along with some balsamic and minty notes, possibly from the Castrelo wine. It's also spicy, with notes of cloves and nutmeg. 3,600 bottles were filled in October 2021. Drink 2022-2028.