Adega Algueira Dolio 2021

€58.76

VAT included

Adega Algueira Dolio 2021

Adega Algueira Dolio 2021 is a signature red from the Ribeira Sacra, created by the Algueira family to capture the winemaking heritage of this dramatic terroir of steep slopes overlooking the River Sil. The winery describes it as the reflection of a unique and extraordinary landscape, designed to embody the experience accumulated over the years in the restoration of these heroic vineyards. 2021 has produced a particularly precise and elegant Dolio, with moderate alcohol (13%) and a very rare combination of depth, freshness and energy. It is a vintage that beautifully showcases the finest and most luminous side of the Ribeira Sacra.

Vinification: The blend combines native Galician grape varieties from two vineyards, Carballocobo and Cortezada. Part of the grapes was vinified whole, with foot treading, cold maceration and fermentation with indigenous yeasts in open French oak vats; another part was destemmed. Ageing lasted 23 months in 225-litre French oak barrels and 2,000-litre foudres, aiming to refine the texture without obscuring the terroir’s character.

Tasting Notes: On the nose, it reveals dried herbs, wild berries, cherry, prune, incense and a subtle hint of ash. On the palate, it is medium to full-bodied, very elegant and vibrant, with precise tannins, lively fruit and a long, fresh and harmonious finish, the sort that leaves a mineral and ethereal impression.

Grape Varieties: 45% Mencía, 25% Sousón, 15% Brancellao, 7.5% Merenzao and 7.5% Caíño

Wine Type: Red Wine
Format: 0,75L
Vintage: 2021
Country: Spain
The highest scoring: James Suckling 97 to 99 Points
Robert Parker: RP95
James Suckling: 98
Jancis Robinson: 16

In stock 5 Items

The 2021 Dolio is the third vintage of a cuvée of 45% Mencía, 25% Sousón, 15% Brancellao, 7.5% Merenzao and 7.5% Caíño selected from two of their vineyards, Carballocobo and Cortezada, with each grape providing something and the blend of all is better than each separately. The full clusters were foot trodden and fermented in a tronconic oak vat, and part of the destemmed grapes was added and fermented together with indigenous yeasts and matured in 225-liter barrels and 2,000-liter foudres for 23 months. It has lower alcohol than previous years; in 2021, it's only 13% (a full 1% less than 2022), keeping a pH of 3.4 and 5.7 grams of acidity. I kept it in the glass for a long time, and the wine opened up beautifully. Their aim is to produce a long-lived wine. 6,665 bottles were filled in April 2025.

This shows a wonderfully complex nose of dried herbs and wild berries. The medium- to full-bodied palate is elegant and bright, with focused, precise tannins and incisive energy. There’s a sense of overall balance, with ethereal, nervy fruit that gives the wine both lift and depth. A blend of 45% mencia from Carballocobo, 25% souson, 15% brancellao, 7% merenzao, and a touch of caino. Drink or hold.

Relatively obscure? Unusually pale and ruby. A little dusty on the nose and with bruised rhubarb on the palate. Light-bodied. Not a good context to taste this wine where it’s surrounded by bordeaux-influenced bruisers!