Pablo Soldavini Lurpia Tinto 2022
We have 11 in stock (Inventory is live and accurate)
The Land
Ribeira Sacra is known for Mencía, but this red contains none. Pablo Soldavini's Lurpia comes from a single vineyard in the Quiroga-Bibei subzone, the eastern end of Ribeira Sacra, at 440 meters on a soft, northwest-facing slope. The bedrock is gneiss and slate under a sandy, loamy topsoil. Quiroga-Bibei is the most continental corner of the appellation, farther from Atlantic rain and warmer in summer, and a cooler northwest exposure is what keeps a delicate grape like Brancellao from losing its lift. The steep river canyons of the Sil and Bibei shaped this landscape, and much of it was abandoned as villages emptied. Soldavini has built his work around reclaiming high, overlooked plots like this one.
The Wine
Pablo Soldavini Lurpia Tinto 2022 is 100% Brancellao from young vines, about ten years old. The fruit ferments spontaneously as 100% whole clusters, half of it under carbonic maceration, with an infusion-style extraction held at a maximum of 18°C over seven days. It then ages ten months in old 500- and 300-liter French oak barrels and is bottled unfined and unfiltered. Short, cool, whole-cluster fermentation keeps tannin fine and aromatics bright. Expect pale ruby color, red currant, pomegranate, wild strawberry, rose, and white pepper, with a light, mineral frame. The 2022 season was the driest in years in Ribeira Sacra: Soldavini reported summer days above 40°C that shut the vines down and delayed harvest, and mid-September rain finally helped the grapes finish.
The People
Pablo Soldavini grew up in Punta Alta, on the coast of Buenos Aires province in Argentina. His grandfather had left Castro Caldelas, in Ribeira Sacra, for Argentina in the 1930s, and Pablo eventually returned to settle in the family's village. He started out doing vineyard work for local growers alongside cousins, became a partner at Fedellos do Couto, and built a reputation as a consultant with a rare ability to read sites. He has since stepped back from consulting to focus on his own wines. Every vineyard he acquires is converted to organic farming right away, all work is done by hand, and sulfur is kept very low, added mostly just before bottling.
Food Pairing
This is natural wine from Ribeira Sacra with the weight of a light Pinot Noir, so treat it that way. Roast quail with grapes and thyme suits its red fruit and fine tannin. Seared tuna with a black pepper crust works because the wine's acidity carries the fish. Wild mushroom risotto with parmesan picks up its earthy side. A board of saucisson, cornichons, and grainy mustard works as well. Serve it cool, around 55°F. A red for the evenings when you want to taste something from a place few people ever see.
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Red Blend is a catch-all for wines built from more than one red grape, a practice as old as winemaking itself and central to many of the world's most celebrated bottles. Blending lets a producer balance what a single variety cannot deliver alone: structure from one grape, perfume from another, flesh and color from a third. Bordeaux, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rioja, and the old field blends of Portugal's Douro all fall under this umbrella, as do countless wines from growers who care more about the finished wine than about varietal labeling. Expect enormous range in style, from light and herbal to dense and age-worthy, depending entirely on origin and intent.
