Cíes Albariño
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Winemaker Notes
Pale gold. Vibrant, mineral-accented aromas of orange, pear and honeysuckle, along with a spicy topnote that gains strength as the wine opens up. Lively and sharply focused on the palate, offering intense citrus and orchard fruit flavors underscored by chalky minerality. Finishes dry, nervy and impressively long, leaving resonating orange zest and floral qualities behind. -- Josh Raynolds
Wine Information
In 2012, Rodrigo Méndez decided to establish a personal project under his own name. His goal was to produce wines that authentically express the terroir of Galicia’s Rías Baixas region while adhering to biodynamic farming principles. Rooted in his family’s legacy and inspired by his grandfather’s teachings, Rodrigo emphasizes simplicity and a deep connection to the land. Using ancient winemaking techniques, he crafts age-worthy wines that capture the history and character of the region’s soils. The winery, located in Meaño, Pontevedra, operates on a small scale and produces very limited quantities each year. Traditional methods are employed, combining stainless steel tanks with oak barrels to create wines that reflect the true essence of the landscape. Cíes Albariño, named after the Cíes Islands off the coast of Pontevedra, is a small-production wine that embodies a traditional expression of Albariño from the Val do Salnés subzone. Fermented with indigenous yeast, it is partially aged in old wooden vessels without temperature control, a technique once common in the region before the introduction of stainless steel in the 1980s. Reviving this method, Rodrigo Méndez crafts distinctive, age-worthy Albariños like Cíes that honor the region’s winemaking heritage.
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