Tricó is the word used in some small Galician villages to refer to the unexpected child born years after the older siblings. The winery was founded in 2007 by José Antonio López, an Albariño specialist with experience in leading Rías Baixas wineries such as Morgadío and Lusco.
Tricó is his most personal and intimate approach to making long-lived Albariño. This is evident in the labels, which feature drawings from his mother's school notebook, which she attended in the hamlet of Cequeliños (Pontevedra).
The vineyards are located in the Condado do Tea subzone, the furthest inland of the appellation, close to the border with Portugal. The soils are poor - decomposed granite and sand - and yields are moderate considering the lush nature of this rainy, Atlantic region. Seven hectares of vines are currently planted in Valeixe (A Cañiza) and As Neves. Albariño is the dominant variety, but small amounts of Treixadura are also found in the area.
Longer contact with the lees and extended bottle ageing are the hallmarks of Tricó (around 30,000 bottles, €23). The wine rests on its lees in stainless steel tanks for a year and is bottled around July or August, where it spends another year before being released.
The estate also makes two single-vineyard Albariños, named after José Antonio's grandchildren. Both are limited to less than 5,000 bottles and retail at around €27. Nicolás is the result of deliberately bottling a tank with higher-than-usual alcohol levels. It shows extreme concentration, volume and ripeness. Claudia has a more nuanced profile and similar cellaring potential.
