Ribeira Sacra Wine Guide: Grapes, Appellations & Producers

Heroic slate terraces of Mencía

Soil: Vertiginous slate and granite terraces ("socalcos") dropping to the Sil and Miño rivers.
Style: Bright, peppery, mineral Mencía from steep, hand-worked terraces — Galicia’s great red.
Top sites: "Viticultura heroica" — vines are worked by hand and even by boat on near-vertical canyon walls.
Vintages: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
Producers: Algueira

Tip · Ribeira Sacra is one of Europe’s most dramatic vineyards — slate terraces over a river gorge.

Value pick

Guímaro Tinto · ~$20

Juicy, peppery terrace Mencía — fresh, mineral and gulpable; superb value.

Collector pick

Dominio do Bibei "Lalama" · ~$45 · 2019

Old-vine, schist-grown Mencía blend of real depth and finesse.

Top sub-zone reds & whites

Soil: Amandi’s sun-trap slate slopes (the historic best) plus cooler sites for white Godello.
Style: The most concentrated Mencía of the region, and saline, citrussy Godello whites.
Top sites: Amandi is the famous historic sub-zone, prized since Roman times for its slate-grown reds.
Vintages: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
Producers: AlgueiraAdega Vella

Tip · Amandi is Ribeira Sacra’s grand-cru heart; Godello rounds out the whites.

Value pick

Algueira Godello · ~$24

Saline, citrussy Galician Godello with terrace minerality.

Collector pick

Algueira "Pizarra" Mencía · ~$55 · 2019

Single-slate-vineyard Mencía — intense and ageworthy.