Dominio do Bibei, `Lapola` White Ribeira Sacra

Founded in 2001 by Javier Dominguez, Dominio do Bibei is widely credited as a driving force behind the quality revolution in Spain’s historic Ribeira Sacra region. Ribeira Sacra’s vines were first planted by the Romans, who came to the area to mine gold. They constructed hundreds of terraced vineyards on the precipitous slopes hugging the curves of the region's three river gorges, the Sil, the Miño and the Bibei. These vineyards were later farmed by monks for several centuries, which inspired the region's name, ‘sacred riverbanks’. Eventually, the devastation of phylloxera, economic depression and civil war drove local families to leave Ribeira Sacra and begin new, easier, lives elsewhere.

In the late 1990s, Javier Dominguez was among an influx of young winemakers attracted by the region’s old vines and untouched, Jurassic landscape. His family bought land in the Bibei valley, Ribeira’s most easterly sub-region, and today they own a 140-hectare estate, of which 45 are planted with vines. Javier has since worked tirelessly to revive the region and its indigenous vines, undertaking what is known locally as ‘heroic viticulture’.

Dominio do Bibei’s vines are grown at varying elevations from 200 to 700 metres, scattered across a large, north-facing hillside with schist and granite soils, flecked with slate, quartz and iron. They source some grapes from bordering vineyards provided they do not face south; freshness and good acidity levels are an obsession at Dominio do Bibei. This is aided by the region’s Atlantic climate, whose average annual rainfall of 700mm is mainly concentrated in the winter and spring. The summer and autumn are drier, with a large diurnal range.

Mencía is Dominio do Bibei’s most widely grown black grape. However, they also use the local Brancellao, Sousón, Mouratón, Alicante Bouschet and Caíño, reflecting the seemingly chaotic vineyards of their predecessors. For whites, Godello and Albariño dominate, with small amounts of Doña Blanca, Treixadura and Torrontés sometimes included. Their grapes are destemmed and aged in various vessels, including modern cement eggs, foudres and old 600-litre barrels.

Dominio do Bibei make four cuvées whose names begin with the letter ‘L’. ‘Lalama’ is a light and fragrant red (90% Mencía) with sappy, redcurrant freshness from grapes grown on the warmest, lower part of the valley. ‘Lacima’ is a blend of Mencía, Brancellao, Mouratón and Sousón from the peak of the hillside. It displays a vivid, black cherry character with a fine, filigree texture. Two white wines are also produced. ‘Lalume’ is a precise, barrel-fermented Treixadura, while the limited ‘Lapola’ is a blend of Godello with Albariño and Doña Blanca.

There are far easier places to make wine than in Ribeira Sacra. Yet Javier Dominguez and his consultant winemakers, Priorat’s Sara Pérez and René Barbier, are united in a common belief in this spectacular landscape, its ancient character and, most of all, its capacity to produce Spain’s most distinctive wines.