A magical troubadour: Martín Códax and the Martin Codax winery. If you go to the Rías Baixas, do not forget to visit the Ría de Arosa, it is a marvel, and you will fall in love with it, it will cost you almost an illness to abandon it.
It is located in the province of Pontevedra, not of course you have to try something very identified with the area its albariño D.O. Rías Baixas, and visit a winery, in this case we visit a magical troubadour: Martín Códax

article written by Angel Marques Avila. Journalist

A magical troubadour: Martín Códax and the Martin Codax winery

This winery that holds a special magic, was born in 1986 from the union of some 50 wine growers in the area and takes the name of the most famous Galician troubadour whose songs are still preserved, the oldest Galician-Portuguese with original music , in which love is sung and the sea that bathes our coasts.
Since then, Bodegas Martín Códax has grown and evolved, always supporting its people, its land and its culture.

The project

A culture that promotes for more than 40 countries around the world.
A project that began with the enthusiasm and effort of a group of winemakers and that is now a reality that has made Bodegas Martín Códax an emblem of Galician wines outside and within our borders.
Our vineyards, located in small plots, are characterized by using the traditional system of the trellis and are taken care of with great care, following the advice of our technical viticulture staff to achieve the highest possible quality.

The harvest has just ended

Generally the harvest begins in mid September, is manual and the bunches are deposited in boxes of 20 kg to prevent crushing and their quality decreases.
Once they arrive at the winery, they are analyzed verifying that they meet the minimum requirements and are introduced in the destemmer to separate the grapes from the rasp. Finally, a pneumatic press, is responsible for extracting the must.

Soil

In the D.O Rías Baixas, most vineyards are located a short distance from the sea, so they are low and shallow terrain, which at most reach 300 meters above sea level.
This location causes the soils to be characterized as mainly sandy and mineral, especially granitic, and somewhat acidic, which confers touches of salinity to the wines.

The grape Albariño

The Albariña grape is the main grape of the D.O. Rías Baixas and one of the most important and well-known in Galicia.
Its clusters and fruits are small, not exceeding 125 grams of weight and perform an early maturation.
It is a sweet and glyceric grape, with a high level of sugar and acidity that gives the wines a great freshness. Cultivated traditionally in trellis, is one of the symbols of Galicia par excellence.
However, D. O. also has other varieties, both white and red. Among the white ones, it is worth mentioning the variety treixadura, caíño blanco and loureira.

The weather

The climate of the D.O. Rías Baixas is of Atlantic influence with mild temperatures and high rainfall that decrease considerably in the summer season.
The average temperature during winter is around 10ºC and there is hardly a small difference between day and night.
On the other hand, rainfall is around 1200ml. on average per year.

Martín Códax Vindel

Martín Códax Vindel was born from an extreme viticulture, aimed at finding a vineyard that is not very vigorous, very porous and with a high foliar surface that causes a very low yield and that the qualities of these pink albariño grapes are unique.
In the centenary of the appearance of the Pergamino Vindel, the only manuscript that keeps the secret of the original lyrics and music of the songs of the troubadour Martín Códax, Martín Códax Vindel was born

CATA’S NOTES

Visual: Clean, intense yellow with lemon reflections
Olfactory: Intense, stone fruit, ripe apple, quince, lactic notes, spicy, cinnamon, caramel, very complex.
Gustative: Wine with a wide step by mouth, very glyceric and silky. Retronasal with notes of white chocolate and ripe fruit.

Chemical analysis

TOTAL ACIDITY: 3 g / l
VOLATILE ACIDITY: 35 g / l
RESIDUAL SUGAR: 4 g / l
Data sheet
O .: Rias Baixas
TYPE OF WINE: White
VARIETY: 100% Albariño
PERFORMANCE: 35 hl / ha
FERMENTATION: Stainless steel tanks at 17ºC and 225 L barrels
AGING: Reductive aging in a deposit of at least 1 year.
GASTRONOMY: Fatty fish, soft sauces, white meats. CONTAINS SULFITES
SERVICE TEMPERATURE: 10-12ºC
ALCOHOL GRADUATION: 12%

Awards

Great Gold in Civas 2016.
Best White Wine for the Wine Week Guide.
93 points in the Peñín Guide.