Bodegas Forjas del Salnés
When we arrived at Rodrigo's bodega we were immediately whisked off on a tour of his vineyards, many of which are just a stone's throw from the ocean. The soil in his vineyards is granitic sand, covered with a layer of humus, over granite bedrock. It is very poor, fast draining soil that vines struggle in and phylloxera cannot live in, hence many of the vineyards are deceptively old, up to 200 years! Even his joven Albariño comes from vines with an average age of 40 years. Rodrigo is perhaps best known in Spanish wine circles for his stellar reds produced from the indigenous Galician varietals Caiño, Espadeiro and Loureiro, however his whites are also outstanding. They are fermented with natural yeasts and then matured on lees for months to give complex, full-bodied wines with a fresh acid backbone and a briny tang on the finish. His wines are much in demand in Spain, Japan and the USA so we are lucky to have secured a small parcel as tiny quantities are produced.