The 'Sacred River' is in fact two - the Mino & Sil - cutting their way through the hills of Galicia. Since Roman times the vertiginous slopes that loom forth from the twisting rivers hve been formed into heroic terraces for viticulture. Many of the bridges built to carry the centurion and legionnaire still stand. After vineyard decimation by Phylloxera followed by a long period of inactivity, the last 20 years have seen a resurgence in production from actual single hectares in the 80s.
Dominio do Bibei is one of the most ambitious of this new breed - dedicated to crafting wines as naturally as possible with wild yeasts, unobtrusive oaks of various sizes and concrete eggs all part of their method. Javier Dominguez leads the project (both Sara Perez and Rene Barbier Jnr consulted up until aorund 2015, a sure sign of the intent to produce quality) which he and family started in 2001. The stunning gravity-fed winery sits on a hilltop position in the region's Southeast, their approx 100,000 bottles come mostly from their own vineyard or from similarly high-altitude and cool, often North-facing sites.
