Ribeira Sacra Tinto, 'Lalama'

Score

94

"As I have mentioned in the past, Dominio Do Bibei is located in the most isolated and rustically beautiful corner of Ribeira Sacra, Quiroga-Bibei, where the terraced mountain vineyards are planted on granite to the customary regional blends dominant in Menc¡a, co-planted with smaller percentages of Brancellao, Garnacha Tintorera, Bastardo and Cai¤o. The Lalama bottling is made from de-stemmed grapes, fermented with indigenous yeasts and raised in older Burgundy casks prior to bottling. The 2020 Lalama comes in at fourteen percent octane and delivers a pure and very refined bouquet of pomegranate, cassis, cigar wrapper, graphite, granitic soil tones, a touch of fresh herb tones, cigar smoke and just a touch of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and beautifully balanced, with superb depth at the core, excellent transparency and grip, fine-grained tannins and a very long, focused and complex finish. This is a great bottle in the making, but give it some hibernation time in the cellar to let those suave tannins start to fall away and the wine to drink with generosity. 2033-2085. "

Score

93

"One of the more reliable, affordable and available reds from Ribeira Sacra, the 2020 Lalama has the wild, herbal and spicy character, the berry fruit and balsamic notes from the Menc¡a (which is 85% of the wine) and the tasty palate with some sweet fruit and spice flavors. It lingers in your mouth after you swallow."