Adega O Cabalin Bascois Red Valdeorras DO – 2020

“Planted in 1910 at 800m on slate soil, these old vines produce a fabulous Galician red, a blend of Mencía (40%), Merenzao (20%), Garnacha Tintorera (10%) with the rest made up of Brancellao, Grao Negro, Ferrón and Sousón. Pretty red cherry fruit, thyme and wild fennel offer pretty aromas while not losing a sense of the wild surrounds of Valdeorras. With a chalky lift and smokey notes, the palate is nuanced, enticing and presents just enough tannic grip to frame the wine. Ethereal and exceptional!” 97/100 and top scoring red in Tim Atkin MW’s Galicia Report 2025.

Adega O Cabalin represents everything that is “real” and special in the world of wine. It is a true family winery, founded in 2015 by Maria Teresa Lopez Fidalgo and her husband Luis Peique. Together with their 30 year old son David, they do all the work in the vineyards and winery, with minimal outside help.

Teresa and Luis’s goal is to restore and revive some of the wonderful old vineyards in the hills south of Vilamartin de Valdeorras and make great wines which express their unique terroirs. They now have four hectares of vines planted at high altitudes between 550-800m on steep, slatey hillsides with north or south exposures. All their vineyards are well over 100 years old and produce tiny yields of no more than one to two glasses of wine per vine! The grapes are a mix of local red and white grape varieties, which back in the old days were all planted together in the same vineyard. Their reds come mainly from Mencia, with a smattering of other local red grapes such as Merenzao (aka Trousseau in Jura), Brancellao and Garnacha Tintorera (aka Alicante Bouschet). And their one white wine comes from Godello.

About the viticulture and winemaking

Teresa and Luis do all vineyard work by hand – it would be impossible to work these steep, terraced slopes with their ancient bush vines any other way!  They work organically but are not certified. All grapes are picked by hand, then foot-pressed by Teresa in 500l open top barrels on arrival in the winery, to give very gentle tannins. Around 30-40% of the stems are left on the grapes, which are left to ferment naturally using local wild yeasts in barrel. After malolactic fermentation they remain in barriques for another 8-12 months before bottling.