Algueira Serradelo 2018

Algueira Serradelo is a red from Ribeira Sacra in Galicia, made by the Algueira winery under Fernando González. It is a varietal Brancellao, a native grape widely planted before phylloxera but now rare because it crops so little. The fruit grows on old vines terraced above the River Sil, on slopes so steep, with drops of close to 85 percent, that the harvest can only be done by hand. The soils are slate and granite, which warm in the day and hold their heat, while the river moderates the Atlantic climate. Brancellao is a pale, aromatic, high-acid variety, closer to a fresh, perfumed red than a heavy one. Ageing runs to 14 months in French oak, adding structure and slow oxygen exchange without burying the fruit. The colour is bright ruby. The nose is fragrant, with red berries and cherry over plum, rose, dried herbs and a savoury, mineral note from the slate. The palate is medium-bodied, with fresh acidity, fine tannin and a long, savoury finish. Serve at 15 to 16 degrees. Good with duck, pork and poultry.