Founded in 2019, Adega A Barouta marks Javier Alén’s return to Ribeiro following the sale of Viña Meín to Alma Carraovejas. For this new chapter he has joined forces with Comando G, with whom he had already partnered in the final years of Meín. Since 2022, vineyard management and technical direction have been entrusted to the third partner, Chilean winemaker Roberto Núñez, who trained alongside Marcelo Retamal and later honed his skills in Gredos with Fernando García and Dani Landi. After several years dividing his time between Gredos and Galicia, Núñez settled permanently in Ribeiro to take full charge of both viticulture and winemaking.
At the heart of the project is O Penedo, a vineyard in Leiro, in the Avia valley, that remained outside the Alma Carraovejas deal. Two further plots in Cabanelas, also within the historic boundaries of Ribeiro and planted with mixed varieties, were subsequently added. Altogether, A Barouta includes just three hectares, underpinning a production of around 20,000 bottles with quality firmly at the fore.
Understanding the soils is central to the project. Alongside the prevalent sábrego (decomposed granite), Núñez digs soil pits to identify more slate-influenced profiles, which he believes provide better-balanced vine nutrition. That search for nuance extends to Cenlle, where slate soils supply grapes for their village-level range, Ventoleiro. Ribeiro’s recent resurgence has pushed vineyard prices to around €80,000 per hectare. As Núñez puts it, “Buying grapes is easy; buying good vineyards isn’t.” They pay roughly €2 per kilo and work closely with growers in the Avia valley, setting viticultural guidelines and rewarding quality with higher prices in subsequent vintages.
Varietal breadth
Until 2023 the vineyards were farmed under strict organic principles, but the persistent pressure of downy mildew and black rot in this humid region meant that in wet years as many as 40 treatments were required. Today they practise a vintage-adapted approach, combining measured interventions with frequent under-vine clearing and pruning carried out by Núñez himself. Encouraging deep root systems is a key goal. Traditional fertilisers –mimosa plants, eggshells or tomato waste– tended to keep roots near the surface. At O Penedo, a 65-year-old site on a slope with upper terraces, organic inputs have been reduced to two or three targeted applications of manure on the sábrego soils, forcing the vines to delve deeper in search of sustenance.
Ribeiro’s rich palette of native varieties is another cornerstone. Reds include Caíño Longo, Caíño Bravo, Brancellao and a little Garnacha Tintorera; whites are led by Treixadura, with Caíño Blanco and Palomino. Garnacha Tintorera and Palomino are gradually being regrafted with local varieties. On the adjacent slope to O Penedo they have planted Treixadura, foregoing the construction of traditional terraces –which would have cost around €300,000– in favour of a more direct, labour-intensive cultivation.
The varietal exploration continues around the winery. Albariño has been sourced from Rodri Méndez’s Forjas del Salnés vineyards in Rías Baixas and will be trained on granite posts to promote greater leaf area and airflow; Espadeiro is also in the pipeline. Plant material for Brancellao and Caíño comes in part from Bernardo Estévez, one of Ribeiro’s most respected growers, and is grafted via Vitis Navarra, contributing to the recovery of local genetic heritage.
Harvest is carried out plot by plot and variety by variety over the course of nearly a month, yielding around 30,000 kg. Wildlife adds another layer of uncertainty: deer and wild boar can significantly reduce yields, as happened in 2023 when, following drought and wildfires, only 300 kg of Treixadura entered the winery. In the cellar, the same parcel-by-parcel logic applies. Each plot and variety ferments separately before the team tastes and determines the final blends. Núñez stresses the importance of picking dates and favours a controlled oxidative environment in the winery, prioritising texture, depth and natural stability over overt aromatics.
The winery itself occupies a sensitively restored house in the hamlet of Barouta, complete with a historic stone lagar, exposed wooden roof beams and space for tanks, large wooden vats, barrels and demijohns. Growth from 2,000 to 20,000 bottles necessitated the construction of an adjoining building for storage and stagiers’ accommodation. Wine tourism is part of the long-term vision, though rural depopulation –only one person lives in the village year-round– makes finding stable labour a challenge.
The wines
The range comprises four DO Ribeiro wines: two village bottlings and two single-vineyard “premier crus”. Ventoleiro Blanco (first vintage 2023, 5,600 bottles, €31) debuted as an 80% Treixadura, 20% Albariño blend –the latter adding tension– though the composition varies by year (2024 will be 100% Treixadura). Fermentation takes place in concrete eggs, demijohns and stainless steel, with long, gentle pressings designed to preserve acidity and balance.
Ventoleiro Tinto (first vintage 2022, 4,000 bottles, €31) aims to tame the rustic edge of Caíño. The inaugural vintage combined 70% Caíño, 10% Garnacha Tintorera and a small proportion of Albariño to lighten the blend; as mixing red and white varieties is not permitted under DO rules, it could not carry the official back label. In 2023 (5,000 bottles) the white component was removed and Brancellao introduced to bring finesse. Whole bunches and infusion-style techniques are employed to achieve more ethereal, long-flowing wines.
At the top sit the two “premier crus”, aged for 16 months in large wooden vats and a further two years in bottle. Both debuted with the 2020 vintage, of which just 600 bottles are available at €82.
As Penas, the white, comes from a granite-based vineyard in the Avia valley planted predominantly with Treixadura, supported by Albariño, Caíño Blanco and Loureiro. The 2020, farmed and made biodynamically without added sulphur, shows a gently oxidative, fluid and taut profile with distinctive petrol notes. The tiny 2021 fermented in demijohns without temperature control and drifted towards biological ageing, prompting the creation of a small solera that remains in the cellar; the next release is slated for 2024.
O Penedo is the red and blends Caíño and Brancellao from the eponymous vineyard, marked by a striking granite outcrop at its centre. While Caíño initially dominated, Brancellao will gain ground as recent grafts come into production. The 2020 combines violet notes, freshness and an appealingly supple texture charged with energy.
Taken together, the single-vineyard wines are serious, age-worthy expressions that, by virtue of their character, ambition and pricing, seek to position themselves among the leading wines of contemporary Ribeiro.