Lagar de Costa "Viva La Vid-A Espadeiro" 2016

One of the most interesting wines we have brought in to the shop all year! A red from an uncommon place - Lagar de Costa is located in Rias Baixas situated literally 3 feet from the ocean. If you tripped on a vine you could splash into the Atlantic Ocean, its that close. Espadeiro is a red grape variety that is mostly planted in the Minho region of Portugal, where it is used to make vinho verde. It tends to produce wines in a rather light, pale style. Since the grape is all but extinct in Spain, the vines (when you find them) tend to be around a casual age of 200 years old. Grapes are hand-harvested, with fermentation in tanks and followed by 8 months in old French oak barrels, with very low sulfur. This is a beautiful, light, lean floral (violet) red for lovers of the Loire Valley, of the grape Pineau d'Aunis. Some of those ground pencil and graphite notes, with a lot of spice and crunchy complexity. Perky acidity, a perfect candidate to chill a bit. Have with grilled pulpo with lots of really good quality Spanish olive oil and smoked pimenton de la vera. The catch - there are only 800 bottles of this in the world. So get to sipping!