Pale gold in color with vibrant, mineral-accented aromas of orange, pear and honeysuckle, along with a spicy top note that gains strength as the wine opens up. Lively and sharply focused on the palate, offering intense citrus and orchard fruit flavors underscored by chalky minerality. Finishes dry, nervy and impressively long, leaving resonating orange zest and floral qualities behind.

WINE INFORMATION

Bodegas y Viñedos Rodrigo Méndez is a small project that was launched in 2012 by Rodrigo Méndez that focuses on wines from the village of Meaño, in the heart of the Salnés valley where Rodrigo was born. Covering 2.5 ha, Rodrigo works with stainless tanks and 600 and 225-litre oak barrels. He produces very limited bottlings a year, following old school organic methods of winemaking and vineyard management. The difference between these wines and Rodrigo's Forjas del Salnés project is akin to Burgundian village wine. Cíes is a village in Meaño that carries the same name as Rodrigo's entry-level white and red wine.

Cíes is one of winemaker Rodrigo Mendez's smallest production wines, it reflects a historical approach to Albariño from the Salnés zone, where his family has produced wine for 5 generations in and around the village of Meaño. Cíes is fermented with its own indigenous yeast and then partially aged in old wooden vessels without controlling the temperature—this was the way all Albariño wines were made prior to the 1980s, when stainless steel technology became prevalent in the area.

Cies is produced from grapes grown in three vineyards: two high on the slopes and one low in the valley floor. All three vineyards are located in Meaño, within the Val do Salnes subzone of DO Rías Baixas. Of the three vineyards farmed to make Cies, there are predominantly two soil types, 75% granite and 25% dark soil. The landscape is low undulating hills and the vineyards are planted on the slopes and on the flat valley floors. This area's climatic conditions give this wine an “Atlantic” character, like the sea.

The vines for this wine date back to 1954. Half the wine is oak-aged for 12 months and the other half is aged in stainless steel tanks. The portion aged in oak goes through ageing (elevage) in two large 2,000 liter barrels. This wine does not undergo malolactic fermentation.

Fish (white), Green Salads, Just for Cocktailing, Perfect Aperitif , Shellfish, Sushi