Candea is the entry-level label from Quinta da Muradella, sourced from the Monterrei vineyards of José Luis Mateo’s close friend (and now collaborator) Juan José Vilela. The Vilela family was once one of the region’s largest vineyard owners and played a significant part in Mateo’s emergence as one of Spain’s most exciting wine growers. The white is an equal blend of Doña Blanca, Treixadura and Verdelho, sourced from mature, high-altitude vines in the Tamagos district, close to the Portuguese border. Fermented with natural yeasts and raised exclusively in tank on lees, this bright, savoury south Galician white is brimming with mouth-watering length, pulpy flesh and some pleasant grip on a tonic and racy finish. What value! It's a must-try.

Sourced from a range of small plots, or majuelos, scattered across Monterrei’s three subzones, this is Muradella’s core white wine.  Alanda means “get going!” and the blend includes Treixadura, Doña Blanca and Verdelho. These varieties are fermented together, added progressively to the vat, and matured in a combination of 1,500-litre used French oak foudre and stainless steel. The source vineyards are managed biodynamically and give low yields, with rocky soils that are mainly decomposed slate with granite and clay. This is simply a magnificent white from Muradella, at once succulent, deep and racy with serious mineral resonance. “Like drinking liquid stone,” our note concluded.

Muradella’s Gorvia bottlings are unique and offer the kind of depth and minerality that gives the best of France a run for its money. José Luis Mateo releases a red and a white from this 1.2-hectare vineyard near Monterrei Castle in the northwestern Pazo de Monterrei subzone. He took over the site about 27 years ago and has since replanted some varieties with mass-selection cuttings from the ancient A Trabe mountain vineyard. Farmed using biodynamic principles, the site sits on a slope of slate/schist soils (with plenty of iron in the mix) at 400 metres above sea level. It’s a singular vineyard that begets one of Spain’s most distinctive wines.

While the red from this vineyard is a blend of varieties, the Gorvia Blanco is produced almost entirely from Doña Blanca, fermented (with one-third whole bunches) in a 1,500-litre foudre and a 500-litre barrel, both neutral, for one year, then blended and returned to stainless steel for another year before bottling. The final cut is a deep, savoury, mineral and chalky white of Burgundian complexity: layered and complex with scents of wild honey and mixed citrus and a pure, long finish that lasts for minutes.

Per the Candea Blanco, the Tinto fruit is sourced from the Monterrei vineyards of José Luis Mateo’s great friend and now collaborator, Juan Jose Vilela. Mateo consults on the viticulture throughout the season and orchestrates the harvest with his picking team. This is a fleshy, juicy blend based on Mencía, with a coterie of other local grape varieties—including Garnacha Tintorera, Mouratón and Arauxa (Tempranillo)—all sourced from mature vines at 400-450m above sea level.

All the ferments are spontaneous and include roughly one-third whole bunches. Much of the maturation is carried out in stainless steel. Regarding a tasting note—what Luis Gutiérrez said! Think of this as Muradella’s home bistro cuvée, with all the deliciousness that this entails. It’s a tangy, herb-tinged red with succulent red fruit and flowers, all checked by a lick of rocky, powdery freshness.

The red Alanda is a blend of Mencía, Bastardo (aka Merenzao or Trousseau), Garnacha Tintorera and a swig of the white Doña Blanca. The fruit is drawn from a mosaic of high-altitude organic vineyards spanning myriad soil types, including slate, granite and clay. The resulting wine is, therefore, a kind of vinous mural of the Monterrei landscape. One-third of the grapes were destemmed, and everything is co-fermented. The wine aged for 15 months in used oak barrels and six months in vat before bottling.

We have shown previous vintages blind to some very good tasters who went straight to 1er cru Burgundy, and the new release is cut from similar cloth. Velvety and caressing on the palate, it’s a juicy, perfumed wine delicately shaped by lacy tannins and buoyant freshness. Another superb, super-classy ‘Spanish Burgundy’ that only a master grower could produce!

Reship. From the same singular vineyard (pictured below) as the Gorvia Blanco, this is a field blend of around 95% Mencía, with the balance Bastardo and Caíño Redondo. It fermented with 60% whole bunches in a wooden vat before an extended post-ferment maceration, after which it was racked into a variety of old casks. Delivering a beguiling balance of power, lightness and restraint, this 2016 is the most exciting release we have shipped. Floral-accented field strawberries and sweet cherry scent the palate as it floats with northern finesse to a prolonged, mineral finish. There’s generous texture, nicely hemmed by silky tannins and lively acidity, which keeps you tethered to the glass as this special wine slowly unfurls. 2016 was a challenging vintage, yet here is a wine that makes it look easy. If you are curious why José Luis Mateo is held up as one of northwest Spain’s most revered growers, look no further.