Peixes

Bodegas Peixes was the parallel project of Jesús Olivares and Curro Barreño - the two winemakers behind Fedellos do Couto - aimed at vineyards outside DO Ribeira Sacra. They pushed further upriver into the Ourense massif, into the Viana do Bolo uplands along the Val do Bibei, working abandoned high-altitude terraces that couldn't be labelled under Ribeira Sacra because the authorities deemed the wines atypical. These are among the highest vineyards in Galicia - 600 to 850 metres above sea level, on granite with schist and gneiss in the Bibei parcels.

The 60-80 year-old gobelet-trained vines grew along sinuous stone terraces. They were field blends of Mencía, Mouraton, Grao Negro, Garnacha Tintorera, Bastardo and Sousón, with 10-15% of white varietals Godello, Dona Blanca, Colgadeira and Palomino. Farming was a mix of organic and sustainable. Jesús and Curro worked six hectares themselves, by hand, alongside growers who managed a further two hectares. Winemaking was low intervention and consistent across the three cuvées: whole clusters, long macerations, cool fermentations with indigenous yeasts. Wines were matured in large neutral oak and bottled without fining or filtration. The project has since been folded into Fedellos do Couto.