Lalama
Winery: Dominio do Bibei
Region: Ribeira Sacra
Coupage:  Mencia, Souson, Brancellao, Morauton (RED)
Vintage: 2017
 
Medium ruby red in colour, 'Lalama’ is a light and fragrant red. The nose is brimming with vivid aromas of raspberry, redcurrant and red cherry alongside layers of wild herbs, lavender and spice. The intense red fruit flavours and herbal aromas carry through to the palate where bright acidity and silky texture lend good structure and length.
 
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Vines are grown at varying altitudes from 300 to 700 metres, scattered across a large, north-facing hillside with schist and granite soils, flecked with slate, quartz and iron. The vine age varies between 22 and 100 years old and. The region’s Atlantic climate, with an average annual rainfall of 700mm mostly concentrated in the winter and spring months, helps retain freshness and acidity in the fruit.
 
Since his first vintage in 2001, Javier Dominguez’s Dominio do Bibei has been widely acknowledged as the driving force behind the emergence of quality wines in Spain’s historic Ribeira Sacra. He has worked tirelessly to revive the region and its indigenous vines, undertaking what is known locally as ‘heroic viticulture’. There are far easier places to make wine than in Ribeira Sacra. But Javier Dominguez, along with his consultant winemakers, Priorat’s Sara Pérez and René Barbier, are united in a common belief in this spectacular landscape, its ancient character and, most of all, its capacity to produce Spain’s most distinctive wines.