Guimaro "Finca Miexeman" Ribeira Sacra 2017

Vinous - Josh Raynolds : 93 Points

(6/2021) Glistening ruby. Mineral- and smoke-accented dark berry and cherry aromas are complemented by a spicy nuance that builds with air. Densely packed, impressively concentrated raspberry and bitter cherry flavors show sharp detail and spicy thrust. Finishes gently chewy and emphatically spicy, with polished tannins lending shape to lingering mineral and floral notes. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2031.

John Gilman : 94 Points

(2/2020) The Finca Meixemán from Guímaro was the family’s superb vineyard that formed the cornerstone for their domaine, when they decided to start bottling and selling their wines commercially back in 1991. The vines are over seventy years of age, all Mencía and planted on schist soils. Luis Rodríguez foot trods the grapes for this bottling, ferments them with about half the stems and allows a long maceration of more than thirty days and ages the wine for a bit more than a year in old, Burgundy casks. The 2017 Finca Meixemán is also a touch reductive when first opened and needs a bit of decanting time to start to show its inherent aromatic complexity, but eventually wafts from the glass in a lovely blend of dark berries, graphite, complex, stony minerality, tree bark, pepper and a beautiful topnote of botanicals that reminds me of Emidio Pepe’s wines. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and impeccably balanced, with an excellent core of fruit, great mineral drive and grip, ripe, seamless tannins and outstanding focus on the long and complex finish. This will be a great wine in due course, but, though it is approachable now, it is still a puppy and should be given at least eight to ten years in the cellar to really start hitting on all cylinders! Drink between 2028-2060.

Wine Advocate : 92 Points

(5/14/2020) For some reason, I missed the 2017 Finca Meixeman when I tasted the other single-vineyard reds from that year, so I took the opportunity to taste it now so that you have a note about it in our database. The big hailstorm that exploded above the Guímaro vineyards in 2016 not only destroyed that year's crop, but also damaged the plants, which didn't fully recover until 2018. This felt a bit reductive and needed time to breath and open up, so decanting it in advance might be a good idea. It's an earthier wine than the 2018 (comparisons wit the 2018s are tough for any other vintage!), with more iron-like aromas of blood and rusty nails. The palate reveals some austerity and dusty tannins, clearly in need of food. Drink Date: 2020 - 2023.