96+ pts Wine Advocate
The nose of the 2023 Albario Cepas Vellas is very austere, and it took a long time in the glass to take off. It has lower alcohol and more contained ripeness than its siblings, with a brighter color and a higher-pitched palate, serious and austere, like liquid granite to me. This is pure elegance and finesse in a year of great balance. 9,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2024, a little later than the other 2023s. It should be very long lived. Drink Date: 2026 – 2038

At Do Ferreiro, like many other quality producers in Ras Baixas, they also talk about a brilliant vintage in 2024 in the zone. They got abundant rain (2,000 liters!), some during flowering, which lowered yields of loose and open bunches, which meant no botrytis or mildew. It didn’t rain in August and the temperatures went up, so the ripeness was perfect and the grapes were healthy. Didn’t it sound like a dream vintage?

However, I tasted a majority of 2023s, a year with some frost in February, so everything was less uneven. The harvest started early, the 30th of August, and for them, it was the longest in their history, as it went on for 15 days. The wines are clean and honest, with contained alcohol and good acidity, better than the 2022s but not quite reaching the level of 2024. I kept the wines in the glass for a very long time, as they take time to open up and reveal their personality, different in each bottling.

Published:Jul 24, 2025

• Site: Meao, Salns Valley at 150-250m
• Grapes: Albario
• Vine Age: Vineyard planted in 1785, with the current vines being over 200 years old
• Soil: Sabrego (decomposed granite and sand)
• Vinification: Fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel
• Aging: 11 months on the lees
• Farming: Practicing organic

Do Ferreiro Cepas Vellas comes from very old vines, some of which are around 200 years old. The vines spread over less than one hectare of land, on sandy soils with a granitic rock bed. From these vines they only produce between 5,000 and 9,000 litres, depending on the vintage. 10% of the grapes are left on the vine so that they reach botrytis noble state, and the harvest is completely manual.

In the winery, the grapes are destemmed and then undergo cold film maceration. Then the Do Ferreiro Cepas Vellas grapes are pressed and the must ferments using the pie de cuba method. Finally the wine rests on its own fine lees in stainless steel tanks for about 12 months.

Do Ferreiro Cepas Vellas is an elegant white wine with excellent density and complexity. A small production from one estate that is smaller then one hectare and only made in years when the grapes are in the best condition.