2019 Adega Sernande (Orly Lumbreras) - Leyron Vino Tinto (750ml)

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Importer: "Adega Sernande is a project born of friendship between Ribeira Sacra-based couple María Aira Pumar and Antonio López Casas and Gredos vigneron Orly Lumbreras. The trio met at a natural wine event in Galicia, where Orly was showing his wines. They became good friends and in 2014, when María and Antonio invited Orly to make a wine together from their steep, old parcel of Mencía on the edge of the River Sil, Orly jumped at the chance!

This is a brand new red wine from Adega Sernande: 100% Mencía from a single vineyard of 50-year-old vines planted at 500 meters altitude in Sober (Lugo province). The grapes were harvested on September 14th, foot-trodden with 20% stems and fermented with native yeasts in open vats, followed by a long maceration totaling three months. The wine was then aged for 8 months in stainless steel. Adega Sernande operates outside of the D.O. Ribeira Sacra. However, for reference, this vineyard is located in the subzone referred to by the D.O. as Amandi.

We cannot hide that Adega Sernande is in love with the wildest and most untamed side of the Ribeira Sacra -- the one that receives the least praise, the one that is not frequented by tourists, the one where the Sil dominates, does not allow itself to be toyed with, and becomes inaccessible. That is why our vineyards are based in Vilachá de Salvadur, in the parajes of Val do Frade and Trasmontes. But we are restless people and our tireless seeker, Antonio, is in love with Amandi, with the delicacy and elegance of its Mencía. And in his relentless search to find vineyards that will bring us exciting wines, he found a small plot overlooking the Sil River, situated on granite soil with protruding siliceous rocks. The paraje, Chanteiro, has a special magnetism. To step on its ground for the first time is to feel that it will give you much more than you can possibly give back... A soil where the non-decomposed quartz edges shine between the feet of plants that have spent decades defending their positions. That feeling became a reality in our tanks in the 2019 vintage. We wanted to transfer to the glass that character and strength that we felt when we got to know the vineyard. We decided to work with the simplicity and nakedness of stainless steel, so that the soul that beats in the plot can be felt when taking a drink, and the florality that spring transmits in the place can intoxicate us as we lean in to take a sip of the wine. This wine is the opposite side of Mencía from Vertixe; Leyron is elegance, florality, softness, with a silky, fluid, stately gait."

The wine is indeed floral and spicy as billed--a lovely, soulful light-bodied Galician red which speaks clearly of its Amandi terroir, and an exciting new discovery from trailblazing importer Ariana Rolich!