North-west of Ourense in central Galicia, Ribeira Sacra centres around the anciest mountain fortress town of Monforte de Lemos. Defined by two significant rivers, the Miño and the Sil, Ribeira Sacra pretty much marks the beginning of red wine country in Spain. Here the granite soils of coastal Galicia start to merge with the continental schist found more in Valdeorras and Bierzo. Breath-takingly beautiful, featuring crazy-steep slopes with grades upto 85 degrees. Endless steps traverse the steep terraces from ridge-top valley floor - a differential of hundreds of metres. It is no joke to call viticulture here 'heroic'. D.O. Ribeira Sacra was commenced in 1996, after the rupture of phylloxera, followed by the long bad years of bulk wine production...and is now just coming back to itself and attempting to discover its quality potential. The Perez family own 9 and control another 16 hectares leased from nearly 30 old subsistence growers, across a range of slate soils nuanced with sand and granite. Pedro has run the family business since 2000. His ascension saw a reduction in yield, the banishment of chemicals and an increased focus on distinguishing handling (and in particular, picking times) of the various key plots, thus enhancing the acidity and structure of the wines. Guímaro's handling is deliberately and meaningfully 'old-fashioned': organic viticulture, wild yeast fermentations, foot treading, inclusion of stems, low sulphur regime, ageing in old wood.