Guimaro Camino Real 2019 (WA 94+)

Wine Advocate 94+.
Camiño Real was a path from Doade to Castro Candelas only suitable for horses, not for carriages, that was said to have been used by the kings, hence the name, which means "royal path." The 2019 Camiño Real is a red to close the gap between the young unoaked wine and the reds from the single vineyards. It was produced with grapes from old vines in Amandi combining orientations, altitudes and soils. It's around 80% Mencía and the rest local grapes intermixed in the old vineyards that are always field blends—Brancellao, Merenzao, Sousón, Caíño… It fermented with some 60% full clusters in troncoconic oak vats with indigenous yeasts and a total maceration time of 45 days. The wine matured in a combination of 500-liter oak barrels and 5,000-liter oak vats for 10 to 12 months. It has a beautiful nose with floral notes, hints of fresh meat and great nuance and complexity. It's medium-bodied with very fine tannins, somewhat ethereal, like a weightless Côte-Rôtie. This has to be the finest vintage for this bottling. This was the only red I didn't taste from 2020 as it had not yet been bottled. This wine is a true bargain, and in this great vintage, they produced a little bit more, some 25,000 bottles. It was bottled in June 2020. LG Mar 2022.

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