Lousas Viñas de Aldea, Envinate 2023

The bottled 2023 Lousas Viñas de Aldea is perfumed, intoxicating and showy, with a floral note of dried rose petals that I also found in the Misturado from this same vintage. It's a blend of grapes, 80% Mencía and the rest a field blend of reds and whites, Brancellao, Merenzao, Alicante, Grao Negro, Mouratón, Jerez, Godello, etc., and zones, Amandi, Quiroga and Ribeiras del Sil with lots of gneiss and also slate and granite, depending on the plot. The grapes were picked between the first and 23rd of September, a very long harvest because of the rain. It fermented with 70% to 100% full clusters in concrete or plastic bins, and 30% of the volume remained in concrete and the rest matured in used barrels of different sizes, from 225 to 500 liters, for 11 months with lees and without racking. There's also a flinty smokiness that gives the wine a different twist. It's stunning and incredibly priced. There were 31,150 bottles and 329 magnums produced. It was bottled in November 2024. 2025 - 2032

I tasted a very promising barrel sample of the 2023 Lousas Viñas de Aldea, cropped from a more Atlantic, cooler and rainier year (especially when compared with the super warm and dry 2022). Right now, it's super primary (the blend will have some 40% to 45% wine from concrete), and they are slowly introducing larger oak foudres (3,000 liters) and lowering the impact of the oak in the wine. This has very good freshness, purity and elegance, reminiscent of past vintages like 2021 or 2016. It has terrific balance. There will be around 32,000 bottles that should be filled in November 2024. 2025 - 2032