Martín Crusat, a biologist by trade, is living out his father’s dream of having a small winery. His father purchased a summer home in 1985 and promptly planted a hectare of Albariño there. It wasn’t until 2012 that Martín and his wife Patricia had their first harvest, and they just recently finished construction on their bodega, which is centrally located between their three vineyard sites. They named their project “Vimbio” which is Gallego for a type of local willow tree that was often used to tie the vines to their trellises. They take utmost care for the environment; they treat their farm as an entire ecosystem and encourage plant and animal life to thrive amongst their vines, keeping their 2.5 hectares under green cover year-round. Wild blackberry bushes dot the vineyards, and wildflowers proliferate in spring. Algae from the nearby Atlantic is used as a fertilizer, and many biodynamic practices are incorporated. In the cellar they intervene as little as possible, using natural yeasts and aiming to reduce sulfur levels in their wines.
The Wines
Vimbio is their namesake cuvée comes from three parcels on clay soils, primarily Albariño with the rare and nearly extinct Caiño Branco added for acidity, and a bit of Loureiro for fruit and spice. Grapes were hand-harvested and whole-cluster pressed immediately before undergoing fermentation and lees-aging in stainless steel tanks, stirred regularly only for the first three months. The finished wine was bottled without fining, and with a light filtration and minimal added SO2.
Baenis comes from one 0.5ha parcel of Albariño named “Campo Casendo” located next to the family home, which has been chemical-free since it was planted. Grapes were hand-harvested and whole-cluster pressed immediately before undergoing fermentation and lees-aging in stainless steel tanks without battonage, leaving the tart mineral qualities of the Albariño to shine. The finished wine was bottled a light fining and filtration, and minimal added SO2.
O Acordo is a claret made from two parcels on clay soils, 30yr old estate Albariño and 5yr old Sousón, a native red variety purchased from a neighboring farmer. Grapes were hand-harvested and whole-cluster pressed immediately before undergoing fermentation and lees-aging in stainless steel tanks, stirred regularly only for the first three months. The finished wine was bottled without fining, and only a light filtration and minimal added SO2. This is an old-world tinto clarete wine.
