"This is pure elegance and finesse in a year of great balance." - Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
Do Ferreiro is arguably the greatest name in Spain's greatest white wine region, and their Albariños routinely set the bar not only for Rías Baixas for the varietal globally. The Salnès valley, locally known as the "footprint of God," is the considered the world's ideal terroir for Albariño, with its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, its maritime climate, sheltered vineyards, and heavily granitic soils. Do Ferreiro's entire range is simply superb, but the tête de cuvée Cepas Vellas is the estate's crown jewel.
The Cepas Vellas plot is the oldest documented Albariño vineyard in the world, with some vines surpassing 200 years of age. The pergola-trained vines on decomposed granite and sand result in a wine of shimmering purity, utterly mesmerizing intensity, and crystalline terroir expression. The 2023 vintage continues this cuvée's track record as one of the great white wines of the world, with 96+ points from Gutiérrez, who praises its "liquid grantie" personality and undeniable age-worthiness. For anyone seeking an apex expression to add to their cellar, you shouldn't think twice about the 2023 Cepas Vellas. It's world-class pedigree and singular character speak for themselves.
The nose of the 2023 Albariño Cepas Vellas is very austere, and it took a long time in the glass to take off. It has lower alcohol and more contained ripeness than its siblings, with a brighter color and a higher-pitched palate, serious and austere, like liquid granite to me. This is pure elegance and finesse in a year of great balance. 9,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2024, a little later than the other 2023s. It should be very long lived.
96+ points, Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate (Jul 2025)
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