The aromatic richness is one of the main hallmarks of Val Do Galir Mencía 2023, the most emblematic red wine from the Valdeorras winery, owned by CVNE, Virgen del Galir. A red wine originating from a selection of small Mencía plots located on terraces, aged for 9 months in French oak barrels.
Consumption features
Serving temperature
General features
Type of wine
Region
Grape variety
Type of barrel
French oak barrels of 500 liters, used once or twice.
Type of bottle
Burgundy Bottle
Barrel aging time
7 months
Capacity (cl)
75
Total acidity (g/l)
6
pH
3.3
Alcohol content (% vol.)
13
General Information
Valdeorras is a land known for its spectacular white godello wines, but in recent years it has also seen the emergence of high-quality red wines made from mencía, gaining more and more followers. A great example of this is Val Do Galir Mencía 2023, a single-varietal wine produced at the winery owned by the CVNE group in this Galician region: Virgen del Galir. Born from a selection of plots the winery has on terraces since 1998 in the municipality of Éntoma (Ourense), it is a red wine that stands out for its excellent value for money.
These are south-facing plots located on the upper part of the terraces, at about 500 meters altitude, on deep slate soils, where sustainable viticulture is practiced. After a manual harvest in 15 kg boxes, the grapes fermented with native yeast, and the winemaking process was aimed at achieving the maximum expression of primary aromas. Finally, the wine matured in French oak barrels.
Virgen del Galir appeared on the scene in 2002 as a family winery created by José Barros García. The work of the Barros family earned recognition from the most influential international critics; for instance, in 2009 Robert Parker included one of their godello whites in the ‘Top 100’ of the best Spanish white wines under 25 €.
The CVNE group acquired the winery in 2017 and gave it the definitive boost to reach the top of Galician wines. Virgen del Galir is located in Éntoma, in the eastern part of the province of Ourense, in a valley of the Galir River. It has 40 hectares of vineyards divided into small plots at over 600 meters altitude; some of them are old vines inherited from previous generations of the Barros family. The wines are crafted under the guidance of the renowned winemaker Jorge Navascués, who is also the winemaker for the Rioja winery Contino.
Previously known as Pagos del Galir Mencía, Val Do Galir Mencía 2023 is a wine belonging to the D.O. Valdeorras that pairs perfectly with meats like grilled Iberian pork shoulder, as well as hearty dishes such as verdinas with oxtail.
Creators' opinion
The 2023 harvest began on September 18 and, although it seemed it would start earlier due to the heatwave in mid-August, the rains in the second week of September delayed the picking, allowing us to harvest with moderate alcohol levels. The longer phenolic cycle for these varieties also played a role, influenced by a rainy spring and a dry summer with very high temperatures in mid-August. Long alcoholic maturation due to the September rains, better pH and acidity as yields were 15% higher than in 2022. It is a vintage with a vibrant palate, full of energy, tension, wild yet refined, Atlantic, and profound.
The winery
The origin of the winery Virgen del Galir (2002) is entirely family-based: it was founded by José Barros García who, together with his son David, has championed for years the magic of Valdeorras wines, both those made from godello and the -rarer- reds from mencía. The excellent work of the Barros family (in 2009 Robert Parker included one of their godellos in the top 100 best Spanish white wines under €25 and awarded it 90 points) caught the attention of the CVNE Group, which acquired the winery in 2017 with the aim of giving it the definitive push towards the pinnacle of Galician wines.
The Virgen del Galir winery is located in Éntoma, in O Barco de Valdeorras, in the eastern part of the province of Ourense. There it has 40 hectares of vineyards planted on terraces at over 600 m altitude, some of them old and inherited from previous generations of the Barros family.