2014 O Diviso Valdeorras, Telmo Rodriguez

This has an incredible freshness and minerality that makes you think of a white wine. Medium body, very long and persistent with granite and blueberry on the finish. Fantastic. Drink now.

The news this year comes in the shape of a new red, the 2014 O Diviso, from 2.9 hectares of terraced vineyards (1.2 hectares of very old vines, and they have planted a further 1.7 hectares) around the Monasterio de las Ermitas next to the Bibei River, in the village of O Bolo. (They wanted to call this Las Ermitas but had problems with the name.) The old vines are a mixture of varieties, and in this late ripening vineyard, there is less Mencía and more Garnacha Tintorera and Mouratón; there's also some Caíño, which is not very common around there. It fermented in stainless steel vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in 600-liter oak barrels for 14 months. I was really taken by this new wine that showed a little more austere and mineral than As Caborcas-subtle and with a super fine texture in the palate with very refined tannins. This goes straight to the summit of Valdeorras reds. I'll be a bit daring and give it the edge over As Caborcas. And I have the feeling that the best is yet to come... Only 933 bottles were filled in May 2016. Volumes should grow gradually in future vintages.