Fazenda Prádio | Pacio Tinto | Galicia, Spain | 2018
Xabi Soeanes has had a slightly unusual path to winemaking. A native of Galicia, Xabi left his village of A Peroxa to pursue a career in professional soccer, playing in Spain’s second division for FC Ourense and Lugo for twelve years. But being away from his family’s rural community affirmed his desire to build a life back in the Ribeira Sacra region. Xabi’s dad had already begun planting Mencia vines and other crops in the early 2000s, and Xabi would occasionally come home to assist with the harvest. But when he came home for good in 2011, he returned with a strong focus on the native and ancient varieties deeply entwined with the history of Ribeira Sacra as a winegrowing region. With this vision, he founded Fazenda Agrícola Prádio.
The main driver for Xabi’s ideas surrounding wine and the family fazenda is to respect the way wine was made centuries ago. This means less Mencia, which is an important marketing grape for the Ribeira Sacra D.O. commission, but not a grape with ancient history in Galicia. It is because of this that Xabi did not join the official appellation until 2019.
Once you taste Xabi’s 2018 bottling of Pacio, you will see why his wines are so special, and why he ignored the expectations of the commission for so long. Xabi is adamant that the history of the region’s winemaking is in its blends rather than single-variety wines. The Pacio Tinto is his heart and soul wine, meant to demonstrate a proper Galician blend in which the final product is greater than the sum of its parts. Named for the village from which the vines are planted, Pacio is a blend of the indigenous grapes Brancellao (40%), Merenzao (40%), Caíño Longo (15%), and Mencia (5%). This wine is peppery, juicy, earthy, and electric all at once– something distinctly Galician, and very delicious.
Enjoy this with almost any meat or veggies dish, but with a bit of a chill, you can also pair it alongside piri-piri mackerel or a funky Red Hawk cheese. Its versatility knows no bounds, so have fun with it! It’s highly aromatic and complex, so do Pacio justice and enjoy it out of your best wine glass! —Simi Grewal
