Dominio do Bibei

Dominio do Bibei

Honestly, you'd be better off visiting Dominio do Bibei's website to get a sense of this truly unique project. But fine, we'll give it a try. Dominio do Bibei is a 125-hectare estate in Ribeira Sacra, near the Atlantic coast in northwestern Spain. 45 hectares are planted at the time of writing, but the vineyard area is constantly growing as new land is cleared. The grapes are roughly what you might expect, with traditional varieties being added along the way. Mencía, garnacha, brancellao, mouratón, doña blanca, godello, and albariño are cultivated according to what are called "old methods," which can best be described as a home-grown version of biodynamics without the cosmic forces. In the cellar, wood, cement, and gravity reign, and a typical approach when making a red wine at Dominio do Bibei involves meticulous work in the vineyard and during harvest, rigorous grape selection, fermentation (without added yeast) in small open vats (500 l), as little intervention as possible, and long ageing on the lees in large oak casks. Old-fashioned and ultra-modern at the same time. And delicious.