Galicia

From the sea to the hills

Galicia has five DO areas: Rías Baixas, Ribeiro, Ribeira Sacra, Valdeorras and Monterrei. We stock wines from the first three, and the easiest way to place them is by their distance from the Atlantic. The further inland, the higher and rockier the sites; the vines of Attis in the Val do Salnés grow between sea level and 100 metres, those of Coto de Gomariz in the Avia valley at 150 to 250 metres, and the terraces above the Sil at 350 to 650 metres.

Carlos Carballo does not fit this scheme: his wines come from A Pobra do Brollón in the Ribeira Sacra, yet carry no DO. Sangarida, the Fariña brothers' project, lies across the border in Bierzo, which is why it is missing here. The long version of the region is in our Galicia story.

One bottle from each area

• Attis Lías Finas 2024, Val do Salnés in the Rías Baixas: Albariño from vines over 50 years old, trained on pergolas facing the Atlantic.
• Coto de Gomariz Colleita Seleccionada Finca o Figueiral 2022, Gomariz in the Ribeiro: the O Figueiral plot appears in documents from the 13th century and was replanted with local grapes in 1978.
• Guímaro Finca Meixemán 2022, Sober in the Ribeira Sacra: The critic James Suckling named this wine «Spanish Wine of the Year» in 2024.

What coast and hinterland share

All three areas grow grapes that hardly anyone plants outside Galicia, such as Treixadura, Sousón, Caiño, Brancellao and Merenzao. Whites are traditionally blended from several varieties: the Guímaro Blanco 2023 combines Godello with Treixadura, Albariño, Torrontés and Loureira. Because the Atlantic brings rain and cool nights, alcohol often stays low; Coto de Gomariz's Brancellao from the clay amphora has 11.5 percent. Our advice: drink Galician whites older than most people do, and start with the Algueira Finca Cortezada 2012.