Rodrigo Méndez Albariño A CRUCEIRA 2024

RODRIGO MÉNDEZ A CRUCEIRA ALBARIÑO 2024

Rodrigo Méndez is one of the winemakers who best represent the evolution of great Rías Baixas wines. From Forjas del Salnés, a project he shares with Raúl Pérez, he has built a career focused on the recovery and expression of old Albariño vineyards in the Val do Salnés.

His work goes beyond producing Albariños designed solely to showcase fruit and immediate freshness. Rodrigo Méndez seeks wines with depth, aging potential, and a distinct vineyard identity, working with old vines and different soil types.

Within his small portfolio, A Cruceira represents one of his most unique wines: an Albariño from a single vineyard in Xesteiriña, where the age of the vines and the nature of the soil allow for extraordinary concentration and minerality.

Philosophy

Rodrigo Méndez's philosophy is based on letting the vineyard define the character of the wine. They work primarily with old Albariño vines located in plots with different soils and microclimates, striving to ensure that each wine retains its own unique personality.

The winemaking process is tailored to each plot, not the other way around. At A Cruceira, the use of small, old barrels allows for a slow fermentation and aging process, contributing texture and complexity without making the oak the dominant element.

The result is an Albariño that goes far beyond the simpler, more aromatic profile of the variety: it is a wine of terroir, tension, salinity, and aging potential.

Winemaking, Vintage, Vineyard, and Variety

A Cruceira 2024 is a 100% Albariño from a small plot located in Xesteiriña, near Sanxenxo, within the Rías Baixas D.O.

The vines are over 90 years old and planted in gneiss soils, a type of metamorphic rock that contributes to the wine's distinctive mineral character. It is a very small vineyard, which also explains the limited production of this wine.

The harvest is done by hand, and the grapes ferment spontaneously in old 225-liter oak barrels. The wine then ages for approximately 12 months in barrel, where it acquires texture and complexity without losing the natural tension of the Albariño.

The 2024 vintage in Galicia was characterized by a cooler growing season than 2023 and an early harvest, circumstances that favored wines of great freshness, definition, and tension. At A Cruceira, these conditions particularly reinforce the Atlantic and mineral character of the plot.

The result is an Albariño of great concentration yet very elegant, where the fruit is integrated into a structure dominated by acidity, minerality, and salinity.

Tasting Notes

Appearance: Bright pale yellow with golden highlights and a clean, luminous appearance.

Nose: Very expressive and profound, with citrus, apple, pear, and stone fruit, accompanied by white flowers and delicate herbal notes. Aging contributes subtle hints of spice, dried fruit, and perfectly integrated oak. Underlying this is a pronounced mineral and saline sensation reminiscent of damp stone and crushed rock.

Palate: Taut, precise, and with great depth. The entry is fresh and vibrant, with perfectly integrated acidity that runs across the palate. The texture is ample and slightly unctuous, yet the wine maintains an extraordinary sense of energy. The fruit takes a backseat to the minerality, salinity, and structure.

The finish is very long, dry, and persistent, with a marked saline sensation and hints of citrus and minerals. This Albariño combines power and finesse, with a structure that allows for long aging in the bottle.

Pairings

A Cruceira 2024 is a particularly gastronomic wine that finds an extraordinary affinity with shellfish and crustaceans, especially oysters, barnacles, lobster, langoustines, and scallops. Its marked salinity and acidity work equally well with white fish, oily fish, and grilled dishes, while its body and aging allow it to be paired with fish in creamy sauces and seafood rice dishes. It can also be excellent with poultry, Atlantic cuisine, and dishes featuring butter, nuts, or mushrooms.

A Cruceira 2024 is one of the most profound and unique expressions of Albariño from the Val do Salnés. The old Xesteiriña vines, the gneiss soil, and a slow, deliberate aging in oak barrels create a wine of enormous precision: mineral, saline, taut, and profound, capable of evolving for many years. An Albariño that demonstrates how far the variety can go when the vineyard and terroir are at the heart of the production.