The Monterrei wine region in the south of Galicia on the border with Portugal is unknown even to die-hard Spain fans, but that is sure to change thanks to the wines of Luis Mateo and his Quinta da Muradella. He only started making wine at the beginning of the 1990s, on two parcels of land where his father primarily grew grapes. Gradually, Luis Mateo expanded this property to 15 hectares. He wanted to leave nothing to chance and experimented for many years, only launching his first wine on the market in 2000. He was helped by the great oenologist legend of Galicia - Raul Perez. Today, his parcels are cultivated organically and all work in the vineyards is carried out by hand. He often has several grape varieties in the parcels, which are then vinified separately, which involves a lot of work. And these are exclusively indigenous grape varieties such as Godello, Dona Blanca or Mencia. After his experience with ageing the wines in wooden barrels, he has renounced this because this procedure obscures the unique terroir of the region, a mixture of slate, clay, gravel, granite and quartz, too much. His main aim is to bring the climate, soil and vintage characteristics to the bottle as authentically as possible. And, of course, it is also about freshness, which the harsh climate of Galicia and the location of the vineyards at 300 to 800 meters above sea level can bring to the wines. And these wines are delighting experts and earning top marks from critics. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate ranks the wines of Quinta da Muradella among the best in Spain.
