Dominio do Bibei Ribeiro Blanco 'Lalume'

Dominio do Bibei is the domaine of reference in the lesser-known Quiroga-Bibei subzone of Galicia’s Ribeira Sacra. Proprietor Javier Domínguez and team are sparing no pains in making their best wines ever from back-breakingly beautiful terraced vineyards at up to 500-600 meters above sea level. Plantings are mostly to Mencía but other indigenous varieties like Mouratón and Brancellao are cultivated assiduously, vinified separately, and prized for their character in blends. The whites, produced from the highest plots, are also revelatory. The winery is one of silence, beauty, and a distinct lack of technology– this is a gentle transformation from grapes to wine, entirely by gravity in descending levels of neutral wooden vessels.

A newish cuvee from the estate, the Lalume Bianco is almost entirely Treixadura fermented with native yeasts in new and used oak as well as stainless steel. Boasting good body and weight, this tastes of fresh pear, apple, banana, white flowers, and saline minerality. It is truly a revelatory bottle of wine.