The 2018 harvest at Santiago Ruiz

This year’s harvest started at very first light on the 10th of September in our Tomiño vineyard. The estate, which is located in O Rosal, the most southerly area of the whole of the D.O. Rías Baixas, enjoys exceptional conditions due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the Miño River. Our 38 hectares of own vines extend over its sunny, south-facing slopes, enjoying a privileged microclimate that favours the perfect ripening of the grapes.

The first months of the year were particularly bleak due to the cold and rain. The weather suddenly changed at the start of June, making way for warm days. July and August were warm and dry bringing forward the start of the harvest. As usual, Santiago Ruiz was the first winery to start harvesting within the «Rías Baixas» Designation of Origin due to the location and conditions of our vineyard.

The lack of rain during harvest favoured a good level of ripening and very healthy grapes. The vineyard was not affected by any diseases, facilitating the natural care of the vines.

The grapes were selected in the vineyard and harvested by hand in small crates to preserve the unique character that defines Santiago Ruiz’s wines. This manual harvest carried on until the end of September, with each parcel and type of grape being picked on a gradual and individual basis. As always, Albariño was the first variety to be harvested, and picking ended with Caiño Blanco on the 29 September, given that it has a longer cycle.

The lack of rain towards the end of the cycle gave us concentrated fruit with a good natural balance of acidity, making well-structured musts with ripe fruit aromas and excellent complexity on the nose and palate.

Now all we have to do is wait for the completion of the work of our winemaking team, under the technical direction of Luisa Freire and the supervision of Rosa Ruiz; another vintage maintaining the original spirit of the wines of Santiago Ruiz.

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