Adegas Guímaro

Guímaro is Galician for rebel. It was the nickname of the grandfather of Pedro Manuel Rodríguez, who runs the estate in Sober today, and the nickname became the name of the adega.

Pedro Manuel Rodríguez, from a family with a long winegrowing tradition in Sober, in the Amandi subzone of the Ribeira Sacra. The family modernised its cellar in 1991 and joined the D.O. Ribeira Sacra in 1996, and Pedro took over in 2001.

In 2024 James Suckling named the Meixemán the best wine in Spain. The grapes come from the family vineyard Meixemán, one of the oldest plots, with vines over 70 years old. The wine is 80 percent Mencía and 20 percent other native varieties such as Sousón, Caiño and Merenzao. 65 percent of the grapes ferment as whole bunches in wooden vats. With us it costs CHF 29.

Pedro has worked with winemaker Raúl Pérez since 2002. When Pedro took over in 2001, Guímaro mostly made young reds. The partnership brought new techniques and single-vineyard wines such as Finca Meixemán, Finca Capeliños and Finca Pombeiras.

For reds, mainly Mencía, joined by old local varieties: Brancellao, Sousón, Caiño, Merenzao, Mouratón and Garnacha Tintorera. The Mencía 2023 is a single variety, while in the other reds Mencía leads, usually at 70 to 85 percent. The Blanco is 70 percent Godello, with Treixadura, Albariño, Torrontés and Loureira.

The Mencía 2023 for CHF 18: pure Mencía from vines around 40 years old on average, six months in steel, 12.5 percent alcohol. Served at 14 to 16 °C, it suits tapas, pasta and lighter meat dishes. For white, there is the Blanco 2023, also CHF 18, fresh with citrus and wild herbs, good with seafood and fish.

Mencía and Blanco cost CHF 18, Mundín and San Pedro CHF 25, the Meixemán CHF 29, A Ponte CHF 32, and the single vineyards Capeliños and Pombeiras CHF 45 and 48.

The river. San Pedro comes from plots along the Sil, on slate with iron and quartz. Mundín comes from deep granite soils by the Miño. Both are 80 percent Mencía from vines over 60 years old and age for 18 months in large 3,000-litre casks. San Pedro is the fuller of the two, Mundín the silkier, with an earthy finish. Both cost CHF 25.

Two of Guímaro's single vineyards, each made in about 10,000 bottles. Capeliños comes from vines almost 100 years old on granite and slate, facing south-west. The grapes are trodden by foot, and the wine ages 12 to 14 months in barriques. Pombeiras faces south on slate, ferments with whole bunches and ages eight to ten months in 500-litre barrels. Both suit game and grilled meat.