SÍLICE

Fredi Torres, Carlos and Juan Rodríguez

"Green Spain."

Sílice is a small project started in 2013 by brothers Carlos and Juan Rodríguez with star winemaker Fredi Torres, a native of Galicia who cut his teeth in Priorat working with Clos Mogador before starting his own operation, Saó del Coster. Production is tiny, starting out with a mere 3,800 bottles in their first year. Although the partners do not seek the Ribeira Sacra appellation status for their wines, choosing the freedom to make their own rules, they cultivate indigenous vines using organic and biodynamic methods with the goal of expressing the terroir of Amandi — one of the five subzones of Ribeira Sacra.

It has long been recognized that the western Spanish region of Ribeira Sacra in Galicia had the potential to create world-class wines. Indeed, thousands of years ago, Romans carved terraces on the steep slopes that rise from the rivers below, well aware that their monumental effort in cultivating vines on these mountainsides would lead to wines of distinction. But it wasn’t until relatively recently that more than a few winemakers were producing anything other than everyday wine for local consumption.

Staring up these vineyard cliffs one might imagine they were in the famous Northern Rhône appellation of Côte-Rôtie. Perhaps that is why today’s Ribeira Sacra is a region where young winemakers are settling in to harness these soaring slopes for the purpose of making great wines.

Learn more about Viticultores Sílice here.