Casal de Armán "Eira dos Mouros" Blanco '20

Casal de Armán was founded in the late 1990s by the González family, who have been making Ribeiro wines since the 19th century. Located in San Andres, Ribadavia, Ourense, in Galicia, the winery property is actually an 18th-century court. They have 50 acres of vineyards located within the Ribeiro de Avia region, dedicated to cultivating indigenous varieties such as Treixadura, Godello, Loureira, Brencellao, Caíño, and Sousón. The Avia’s riverbanks support the winery’s terraces with heights ranging from 650 to 1,200 feet above sea level, and the soils are granite, sand, and slate. Winemaker Felicísimo Pereira is also the new Ribeiro appellation’s president. 

In the Galician language, eira translates to “medicine woman,” or chaman, a sort of nature doctor, still present in every town in Galicia. Mouros translates to “little walls for wine terraces.” So eira dos mouros translates to “medicine woman of the walled terraced vineyard.” 

The wine “Eira dos Mouros” is made of 100% Treixadura. While the grape is typically characterized as having modest acidity and is most often encountered in blends, it can shine on its own. The grapes for this wine are hand-picked, and the whole clusters undergo cold maceration. The grapes are pressed and fermented at low temperatures in stainless-steel tanks. The wine is aged for several months in vats, until bottling in June. Fresh and bright but with a richness and weight in both aroma and body, it has a wealth of floral and fruit notes—ripe citrus, melon, tropical are all here—as well as a hint of nuttiness, ginger, and fresh green herbs. The minerality shines on the finish. Try it with shellfish of all sorts or salty fish dishes, such as sardines or mackerel.