Muti Albariño

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Muti Albariño was conceived as a tribute to Patrick Mata’s mother Christiane, with whom he spoke German at home – “Muti” means “Mom” in German. Made by Rodrigo Mendez and Patrick’s lifelong friend and co-founder of Olé & Obrigado, Alberto Orte, Muti is a classic expression of Salnés Albariño. Muti is an exploration of one single site (called Eira da Juapa in the local Galego language) in the village of Meis, about 15 minutes from the Atlantic coast. The pure, saline intensity of this wine reflects not only its proximity to the sea, but also the extreme age of the vines themselves: more than half in this vineyard are 120 years old, pergola trained and own rooted in decomposed, sandy granite. The remainder are still over 30 years old, with extremely low yields and completely harvested by hand by Rodri Méndez and his team, who are all natives to the collection of villages in this area, where the Rias Baixas denomination was established and founded by his grandfather.

WHAT MAKES THIS WINE UNIQUE?

As indicated by the name, Muti (mother) is a wine made in honor of all mothers. With Muti, Alberto wants to showcase the classic hallmarks of Albariño. The dry, mineral and citrus characters of this wine are a superb match for oysters and fresh seafood, and the winemaking techniques lend to producing an incredibly ageworthy Albariño like few others.

RATING HISTORY:

2021 94WE 'Editor's Choice', 91WS; 2019 93WE 'Editor's Choice'; 2018 93+WA, 93 VM; 2017 93+WA; 2016 92WA; 2014 93WA

GRAPE:

100% Albariño. Made from a single vineyards named Eira da Juapa. The vines are 20 years old. Tended in granite soil.

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS:

Muti Albariño shows fresh, stone fruit aromas and almost searing, clean acidity and a strong mineral character that together are a perfect match for shellfish, seafood and lighter salads.

VINIFICATION AND AGING:

The wine is macerated on the skins for 24 hours. 67% of the wine is aged for 12 months in 1000L foudres and 33% remains in stainless steel tank.

LOCATION, SOIL, CLIMATE:

The vineyard is located within village of Meis in the Val do Salnés subzone of the Rías Baixas DO. Located in Spain's upper northwest corner, Rías Baixas is just above the border with Portugal. Rías Baixas means low estuaries, a reference to the area's many rivers that lead to the ocean. The landscape is low undulating hills and the vineyard is planted on the slopes and on the flat valley floors. This area's climatic conditions give this wine an “Atlantic” character. Of the 5 subzones in Rías Baixas, Val do Salnés is the coolest due to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. Yearly rainfall is above 1,700 millimeters (66 inches), or what one would expect in one of the wettest regions in Spain. The area is quite foggy with an average temperature from April-October of 63.4F.

TASTING NOTES:

A complex, highly perfumed bouquet evokes orange zest, white flowers, candied ginger and dusty minerals, with a suggestion of fresh fig in the background. Stains the palate with fresh citrus and orchard fruit flavors that turn deeper and spicier with aeration. Closes stony and very long, with lingering florality and no rough edges. This intensely vibrant wine was aged in oak foudres.

ALCOHOL CONTENT:

12.5%

UPC CODE:

8437008409511

BOTTLE WEIGHT:

1.3 lbs (.6 kg)