The Flower and the Bee Sousón

The flower and the bee are an important starting point for plants. Bees move from flower to flower pollinating plants, which then produce fruit, fruit in this case used to create unique wines such as the A Flor e a Abella (the flower and the bee) wine.

A wine displaying the character of the different terroirs of the Avia Valley, its granite soils and a climate ideal for vine-growing on the gentle slopes rising up from the river. The winery follows biodynamic techniques and the Fukuoka agricultural method which understands the vines as part of the local ecosystem and focuses on respecting natural life cycles rather than human intervention. No toxic chemical products are used and most tasks, such as harvesting the grapes are done by hand. Grapes are carefully chosen while still on the plant and collected in 18kg crates. The small bunches of grapes are then checked again in the winery before the must is macerated and fermented at low temperatures with local yeasts. The finished wine is rounded off in wooden barrels for a few months before being left to stand and refine in the bottle.

On drinking The Flower and the Bee, we discover a very fresh wine with polished tannins, splendid fruit and an excellent balance. It has a Picota cherry colour and its mature aromas lead on to a juicy and surprising taste in the mouth. Mature and full sensations remind us of wines from warmer climes but its intense salinity shows it is clearly a wine from Ribeiro. Red fruit mixes with minty and lactic tones before a sharp hint of strawberry-flavoured sweets appears. In the mouth it is both smooth and agile, fresh and flavoursome. A magnificent acidity and hints of mountain herbs and liquorice make it the ideal wine to pair with a wide variety of dishes, including fish.