Comparing the 2019 Cíes with the 2020 was an eye-opening exercise of how different the style of the two years is for whites from Rías Baixas. The 2019 vintage is riper and warmer, and the wines are more opulent and have...
Comparing the 2019 Cíes with the 2020 was an eye-opening exercise of how different the style of the two years is for whites from Rías Baixas. The 2019 vintage is riper and warmer, and the wines are more opulent and have more tropical notes. The 2020 vintage is serious, sharp and mineral, with less alcohol and higher acidity. This 2019 is soft and mellow, with a moderate 12.8% alcohol and high acidity, eight grams (and a pH of 3.32), which are very good parameters for freshness but still milder than the 2020. The next vintage comes in a Burgundy bottle; 2019 is the last vintage in a Rhine bottle. This Albariño fermented in oak, and then 5,000 bottles were filled in July 2020, after some six months in neutral barrel. - Luis Gutiérrez