Benito Santos – “Igrexario De Saiar” Rias Baixas Albarino 2023 (750ml)

Description

Benito Santos is a central figure in the modern history of Albarino and the Rias Baixas D.O. He began working in his grandfathers vineyards in the 1930s and made wine for serving in his bar wines that repeatedly won prizes in the annual Fiesta de Albarino in Cambados. He was instrumental in the creation of the Rias Baixas D.O. in the 1980s.
The winery now farms three vineyards in the Val do Salns subzone of Ras Baixas, each of which is next to and named after an ancient church: Saiar, Bemil, and Xoan. They bottle each of the three vineyards separately in order to preserve the distinctive terruos of each. Benito Santos is among the few producers in the D.O. whos making, real, unconfected wines – wines that taste like Albario and express their terroir. As Albario has become fashionable, many producers have taken the path of making highly commercial, heavily manipulated wines. In particular, many producers use specific yeasts to get more tropical, fruity aromas and flavors. Benito Santos wines are salty, mineral, and structured. All of the vineyards are now certified organic a rarity in rainy, mildew-prone Ras Baixas and winemaking uses only native yeasts and minimal sulfur.