It was the late 1990s, and textile entrepreneur Javier Domínguez wanted a new direction. Wine fascinated him, and Ribeira Sacra called him. In this part of inland Galicia in northwest Spain, largely deserted since the end of the Spanish Civil War, steep slate canyons have been carved out by the River Sil and its tributaries. Between the forests and scrub lay old and abandoned vineyards. Javier bought land here, in the Bibei Valley, and undertook what has become known locally as `heroic viticulture`. reviving old sites and indigenous vines.
`Ribeira Sacra’ means `holy riverbank`, and once upon a time viticulture here was driven by monks. Nowadays, with his Dominio do Bibei label, Javier has helped put Ribeira Sacra back on the wine map. The Dominio do Bibei wines are textured, authentic expressions of local varieties. Both the reds and the whites have a freshness about them because Javier has always avoided south-facing sites.
In white, Lapola is Godello, fermented and aged in old, large-format wood. Lalume is mostly Treixadura, a spicy and perfumed local white. It does not come from Ribeira Scara, but downriver in Ribeiro (also `riverbank`, but presumably not holy). In reds, Lalama is mainly Mencía, the elegant Spanish red that locals claim is as good as Pinot Noir at capturing the nuance of site. It also contains a proportion of pale, aromatic Brancellao. Lacima (`the peak`) is also mainly Mencía and Brancellao, but from the best (and highest) vineyards on the estate, and is both ethereal and intense. (NT 08/04/26)
