Pazo das Bruxas 2022 named Best of Show Rías Baixas at the international Mundus Vini competition
Pazo das Bruxas 2022 from Torre Penelas, a Familia Torres property, has been named ‘Best of Show Rías Baixas’ at the prestigious international competition Mundus Vini, held recently in Germany, where it also won a gold medal. According to the organizers, this recognition is awarded only to those wines that achieve the highest score in their respective categories. For the Pazo das Bruxas 2022 Albariño, the jury particularly appreciated its acidity and aromas of yellow and citrus fruits, with mineral and floral notes, describing it as harmonious.
The recognition coincides with the tenth anniversary of this wine, the first Albariño from Familia Torres and the wine that initiated their presence in Galicia. The award-winning vintage was produced at the new winery called Torre Penelas that the wine family acquired last year; it is managed by the winemaker Víctor Cortizo. Located in Meaño, in the Salnés Valley, this winery represents the consolidation of Familia Torres’ winemaking project in this region, which is also home to Pazo Torre Penelas, where they make their top-end Albariño Blanco Granito, and 12 hectares of family-owned Albariño vineyards, which will be expanded this year with a new eight-hectare plantation.
In addition to being the winery’s début wine, the 2022 vintage is presented in a new Burgundy bottle format that has made it possible to reduce the bottle weight by 28% – with the consequent reduction of CO2 emissions this entails – in keeping with Familia Torres’ commitment to the environment.
The 2022 harvest was one of the earliest in memory, coming 12 days ahead of last year’s date. Following a dry winter and spring, the summer was hot, leading to faster grape ripening. The rainfall in early September helped to recoup the grape yield and regulate both the alcohol content and acidity. The result is an aromatically intense and alluring wine with a rich, flavourful palate.
The 32nd edition of the Grand International Wine Award Mundus Vini competition, organized by the German publishing group Meininger Vertag, was held in Germany in late February. Over 7,500 wines competed and were blind tasted and evaluated by a professional jury made up of 242 experts (winemakers, wine producers and distributors, sommeliers and specialist journalists) from 46 countries. Meininger Verlag is responsible for prestigious publications such as Weinwirtschaft, Meininger Weinwelt, and Meiningers Wine Business International.
