Doad Lousas, Envinate 2023

The bottled 2023 Doad Lousas is primary, even a little grapey, undeveloped and fine-boned with a fine-grained texture. This is a village red from Doade, but as they are not in the appellation, they cannot use the name on the label. This is a Mencía-based blend with 10% other red and white varieties, mostly from vines on gneiss soils. It fermented with foot-trodden full clusters in plastic bins and matured in neutral 228-, 350- and 500-liter barrels. This has more ripeness and 13.3% alcohol, and the wine is a little rounder but equally balanced and elegant. This fermented and matured without any added sulfur and only a little was used at bottling. 5,030 bottles and 35 magnums produced. It was bottled in November 2024. 2025-2032