Macizo Ourensan Peixes da Rocha Vino de Espana 2016

Jesús Olivares & Curro Bareño both grew up just outside the DO of Ribeira Sacra. After studying enology, they worked in the Sierra de Gredos with Dani Landi and Fernando Garcia. There they learned that if something isn’t easy, well-known, or simple, it’s probably worth pursuing. Inspired by this sense of rediscovery, they returned to Galicia and founded Fedellos do Couto with Luis Taboada, the owner of Pazo do Couto. But the lure of home is always strong, and having proved their talents and instincts within the DO of Ribeira Sacra, why not push the boundaries and explore even more remote regions just outside the zone?

Tracing their roots back home, south along the Bibei – the river that forms the eastern boundary of Ribeira Sacra and the western limit of Valdeorras, Jesús and Curro began to explore the land of their birth. There they discovered scattered vineyards surviving in places unsuitable for other crops. These vineyards might be seen as a nightmare for many enologists – a diverse array of varieties mixed, side by side, white and red. Conventional thinking would find these sites suitable for making peasant wine but certainly not fine wine. Luckily for us, Jesús and Curro have never done anything easy or expected.