Viticultores Sílice, 'Sílice'

The Mencía, Albarello, Garnacha Tintorera, Merenzao, and Godello that make up the Sílice [SEE-lee-say] come from the slopes of the subregion Amandi in Ribeira Sacra. The slopes themselves consist of a combination of granite, sand and chalk soils. The vines are farmed using organic and biodynamic methods.

The grapes for the Sílice are hand-harvested (there is no alternative in the vertical vineyards of the Sil River Canyon) and vinified using indigenous yeasts. 80% of the grapes are destemmed, and 20% are whole-cluster.  The wine ages for nine months on its lees in a combination of neutral oak foudre, stainless steel tanks and concrete vats. 

Garnacha Tintorera is another name for the indigenous Portuguese grape Alicante Bouschet. 

Merenzao [mare-ens-OW] is the Galician name for Trousseau, which is predominantly planted in Portugal and used for making Port wines. 

Learn more about Silice here.