Rias Baixas, Spain

First in the range is the Mercenario Blanco, a mix of Treixadura, Albariño, Torrontés, and Palomino. The primary fermentation starts in stainless steel with low temperatures, and after fermentation they are transferred to an equal mixture of 400-liter amphoras and 600-liter stainless steel tanks for around ten months of aging. The majority of the grapes come from the Manolo de Traveso vineyard, which is rich in clay (of the non-water swelling type, unlike those of the Côte d’Or, for example) with granite bedrock on some of the highest vineyards in the Miño River Valley. Some of the Treixadura comes from the Arnoia Valley on a decomposed granite vineyard and the Albariño from the lower Miño area in Filgueira. There are other small parcels scattered through the three main valleys, Arnoia, Avia and Miño.