Sílice Xábrega 2018

SILICE XÁBREGA 2018

Silica Viticultores is a project that arises from the association of the brothers Carlos and Juan Rodríguez with the Galician-born winemaker Fredi Torres based in Catalonia. In love with the Ribeira Sacra, they built a new winery in the town of Sober in the heart of the historic Amandi sub-area where they make, outside the DO, some of the finest Ribeira Sacra wines, such as their parcel wines, " Finca Lobeiras ”,“ Finca Romeu ”and“ Finca Rosende ”and, since 2017 also, the wine that we bring today for the Silice Xábrega 2018 club, all of them of very low production. In addition to the most renowned wines, they also make the Silica red wine made with grapes from all their plots, Silica Blanco, Silica Rosado and Clarete and, finally, the Silica Autismo red wine, whose collection is donated to associations that work to investigate and help families that suffer from it. Currently they work approximately 3 hectares distributed in about 20 plots, some owned (the least) and others on a rental basis and with a total production that varies each vintage, but with an average of 10,000 bottles per year.

Silice's philosophy to achieve excellence is to respect as much as possible the idiosyncrasy of the exceptional terroirs they have, carrying out a respectful viticulture with the environment and the least manipulation of the grapes possible in the winery, working as artisanal as possible especially in the wines of plot.

Silica Xábrega 2018 is the selection of the best grapes from a single plot made up of 85% Mencía, 13% Alicante Bouschet (Garnacha Tintorera) and 2% white grape with soils mainly made up of decomposed granite and mica located in the canyon of the Sil river.

The 2018 vintage was rated by the Regulatory Council as Excellent for the second consecutive year, although the 2017 and 2018 vintages are antagonistic. In our opinion, the 2018 vintage is a superior vintage because the wines show a balance of aromatic maturity, alcohol and acidity, which We do not find in the 2017 vintage (with exceptions). The vegetative cycle of the year 2018 was longer and the average rainfall much higher than the 2017 vintage, which produced a delay of 2 weeks compared to 2017 in sprouting and subsequent flowering and fruit set. A complicated year in terms of viticulture and yields due to the pressure of Mildew and Black Rot at the crucial moments of flowering, as well as a hail storm in July, which, thanks to the relocation of the Silica plots, the impact was less . The rest of the summer was dry and sunny and allowed the final cycle to develop in perfect condition.

Winemaking: destemming of 100% of the grapes and spontaneous fermentation with autochthonous yeasts in stainless steel vats. Subsequently, it is aged for 3 months in new French oak barica. Bottled by hand with a slight filtration.

Tasting: clean cherry color, medium layer with violet reflections. High intensity on the nose with hints of wild red berries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, cherries, violets and lilacs, fine balsamic notes characteristic of the Galician undergrowth (eucalyptus, bay leaf), spicy (white pepper), pencil lead. On the palate it is fluid, fresh, medium-bodied, tannin still present, but very well integrated, long finish with a vegetal touch and very good persistence.

Production: just 296 bottles of 75 cl. 12.5% ​​Alc.

Acid. T: 4.7 gr / l. Acid. Vol: 0.52 gr / l. SO2 T .: 42 gr / l. Free SO2: 13 gr / l.

Optimal consumption: 2021-2027.

Pairing: vegetable stews, beans, octopus "a feira", tripe, pork shoulder with turnip greens, stews, jerky, peppers, offal, poultry, white meat, red meat, game ...