Pazo de Valdeconde Winery

"Love for the land, passion for wine"

The Pazo de Valdeconde Winery was created in 2009 in the town of Mourazos, it’s the result of many years of tradition and generational effort where their vine-growing ancestors have left them the best legacy; the love for the land, passion for wine.

The origin of this project begins with the grandfather Odilo, a viticulturist and winemaker with a great vocation. He always said: "to make a great wine, you have to love the vineyard and treat it with respect and great care", "good wine is born and made in the vineyard ". He was happiest amongst the wine vats," pipos and jars”, which was reflected in the winery that he ran, harvesting and making each vintage manually with the same care and enthusiasm, with the help of his family in a very traditional manner. He sold it for cantaras (one cantara, equivalent to 16 litres) and at that time it was well known in the valley, by word of mouth, he also sold his wines outside the province (A Coruña, Lugo and Pontevedra).

Thanks to his tenacity and hard work, the years passed and his son-in-law Ángel took over the reins of the winery, acquiring land, reconverting the oldest vineyards to improve production and quality, modernizing and mechanizing the wine-making systems and introducing the varieties included in the Denomination of Origin of Monterrei.

Since its inception, Pazo de Valdeconde has been located in a 19th Century Pazo (Manor House) (more than 200 years old) made of stone from an old Galician quarry, where old and new technologies combine in perfect harmony with a historical environment of vineyards that is surrounded by "A Cortiña" and "A Muradella". These are areas of historical character par excellence, which show us clear signs of other civilisations such as the Greeks and the Romans who venerated the God of wine and this was regarded as a very precious asset.

In the winery there is a cave, in the vineyard of "A Cortiña",for which we can highlight that it’s excavated out of the living rock. These were used in Roman times to keep wine at its optimum temperature.

In the vicinity of these vineyards, one can see at the top of the mountain, the "Fraga Manceba" a natural monument composed of several fragas (forests), which is shaped like a "giant virile member", where young men and women in the Middle Ages, went there to "Amancebarse" (to see the dawn), being relevant in the culture of this town, from its top you can see the entire valley of vineyards.

The winery has an area of ​​14 hectares of vineyards that run along the Monterrei valley and its surroundings. The vineyards with the largest history are "A Cortiña", "A Caseta", "A Muradella", which belong to the area of ​​the Archaeological Site of "Castro de A Muradella": an ancient Roman hilltop villa from the 3rd Century AD in Mourazos, where  in a vineyard that belonged to the grandfather Amadeo of the current winegrowers, the marble statue of "Dionysus and Ampelos" was found.  Civilising Divinity, God of wine, vegetation and pleasures, represents the Greek God Dionysus, assisted by the satyr Ampelos the vine. Thus, it is clear that in this area there are obvious signs of Romanisation that reveal that the inhabitants of that time and their ancestors were already engaged in viticulture.

His philosophy of life comes from a deep-rooted family tradition of winegrowers, who for four generations taught them with their winemaking experience and know-how, the art of making wine.

The Monterrei Valley is characterised by having a Mediterranean climate with a continental tendency; influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and marked by the passage of the River Támega, whose thermal oscillations range from 30 degrees in summer during the ripening of the grapes to severe frosts in winter, providing aromas and influencing the colour of the reds. The soils are mainly clayey, schist, granitic and sandy ... These soils enrich the vine and provide characteristics depending on the variety planted.

The harvest is done entirely manually and traditionally in perforated boxes of 15 kilograms. Its commencement  is subject to the ripening controls of the grapes, according to the indigenous variety in question, which determines the alcoholic strength and acidity of the musts. In the harvest work, the clusters that are not suitable are discarded and also they are selected again when they arrive at the winery to optimise a higher quality of production.

Its main objective is the production of fresh, young and modern wines but with a special seal of identity, with the aromas of the "terroir" that characterise and differentiate them. Where through careful and selective production, the highest quality grapes are sought, always respecting the balance with the environment.

Its wines made with dedication and care: Setembro blanco, Setembro red and Barrica Dionisos & Ampelos, represent the essence of a unique land, the Monterrei Valley.

Their wines are born with the character, the essence and the aromas of the land, the tradition of generations and the history of its "terroir" in the "Castro de A Muradella" in Mourazos.

They want to convey with the work of each vintage their passion for wine and that the end result is for people to enjoy with friends and a smile.

The winery offers guided tours and tastings, always by appointment, they will gladly explain and accompany you through its vineyards, its history and its facilities.

Main awards received:

- Galicia Wine Guide 2017 with Setembro 15.

- Tasting XVII Galician Red Wine Contest with Setembro 16 (Mencía).

- Acio de Ouro with Setembro 16 (Mencía).

- Best wine from the D.O. Monterrei with Setembro 16 (Mencía).

- Gold medal of Dionisos & Ampelos 2017 (Barrica), in the Galicia Wine Guide of Paadín.

- Gold medal of Setembro 18 (White), in the Galicia Wine Guide of Paadín.

- Distinction Gallaecia Setembro 18 (White).

- Acio de Ouro with Setembro 20 (Red), Gallaecia Distinction.