Fedellos do Couto As Xaras Galicia 2023

If you ask anyone who knows Spanish wine, Fedellos do Couto is one of the most exciting names to emerge from Galicia's Ribeira Sacra, a rugged region in northwest Spain. “Xaras” is their old-vine Mencía – a fruit-forward, gorgeously floral, aromatically bold, yet surprisingly light red (only 12% ABV). It’s such an easy weeknight open – $20, folks! – and obviously perfect with pizza, pasta, or anything topped with juicy, shredded pork or beef.

The vineyards of Ribeira Sacra cling so desperately to the terraced slopes that the local viticulture is described widely as a “heroic” pursuit… nothing is done by machines. In 2013, winemakers Curro Bareño and Jesús Olivares came together with Luis Taboada, whose family has owned the 12th century manor on the estate for generations over, to formally launch Fedellos do Couto in this region. The name is a chummy bit of self-deprecation – “Fedellos” is Galician for young troublemakers, and the trio has lived up to their name, seeking out abandoned, north- and east-facing old-vine parcels in the Val do Bibei that bigger producers overlooked. 

With organic farming all done by hand, the team has been able to coax these truly tremendous, fresher, lighter, higher-acid wines out of their cooler sites. They deliberately choose low-intervention cellar work – native yeasts, whole-cluster fermentation, long gentle macerations, and aging in well-seasoned oak with few additions. The 100% Mencía “Xaras” is made from old vines grown on granite, schist, and quartzite soils at 550-650 meters elevation. It ages for about a year in seasoned 500-liter French oak barrels and old 3,000-liter foudre – and just 14,000 bottles of the 2023 were made. (Spoiler: we have WAY, way less than that.)

If you’re unfamiliar with this style, imagine a fresh and energetic red that’s almost Grenache-like in personality – fruity, juicy, floral, medium-bodied, with notes of red cherry, bright plum, summer strawberry, violets and roses, and some spicy black pepper and fennel on the finish. It carries a sizzling acidity that hums vibrantly throughout, and this gravelly minerality that harkens back to its stony soil birthplace. Remarkably food friendly, but just as happy to sip solo… this is an all-out steal for an organic, rare, lighter style of red from a cool, under-the-radar spot. Feed your own inner “young troublemaker,” and make more than a few of these yours!

FOOD PAIRINGS: Pizza, yes. I’m clinging to summer and mixing sweet/savory with some blackberries, basil, ricotta, and spicy soppressata, topped with hot honey. Just trust me on this one.