Los Carismáticos

Virgen del Galir recovers a wine and a reviled variety, the merenzao, a wine the elders tell you about as the tastiest; and the one they selected to make at home for self-consumption.

The name of the wine (and with which we christened the vineyard) is a tribute to the religious order of the sanctuary of “As Ermitas”. This has a historical influence in both the region and the vineyards of the village and is visible from nearly all over our vineyard.

The Merenzao grape is a very minority variety that has been lost in the area, due to low yields, the commitment to godello, and a not exuberant profile. The latter excited us.

In the area it is known as Merenzao, Bastardo, María Ordoña or Godello Negro, in the area of ​​León as Negro Saurí.

Unlike the rest of the region's reds, it is more delicate, with little extraction and intervention, the moment of cutting the fruit on the vine is fundamental as it evolves very quickly, losing freshness and aromas.

The Merenzao grapes come from our “Los Carismáticos” vineyard, which, at 0.3 ha, is situated on the south bank of the River Bibei in the village of As Ermitas, located in the northern part of Valdeorras.

The vineyard terraces are made of stone and were hand-built in the 19th century; the vines themselves are more than 50 years old. The mountainous relief of the area means that the only way to work the soil is either manually or with animals.

Hand harvesting in 15kg crates permits grape selection.

Fermentation is spontaneous using wild yeasts in four 500-liter barrels. This starts with complete groups, with progressive extraction of the stem.