Forjas del Salnés

Forjas del Salnés was founded in 2005 by Rodrigo Méndez, who set up a small garage winery in Meaño at the heart of the Val do Salnés subzone of Rías Baixas. The name references the iron forge once run by his grandfather Francisco Méndez, a blacksmith and grape grower in Meaño who was part of the team that founded the Rías Baixas DO when the appellation was established in 1988. Rodri represents the fifth generation of a Galician winegrowing family with roots reaching back more than three centuries. Francisco's other significant act was viticultural: in 1980, against local advice, he planted Caíño, Espadeiro, and Loureiro on parcels that the family still farms today. Those plantings became the genetic foundation for Rodri's later revival of indigenous Galician reds. Francisco died in 2001, and Rodri inherited his Albariño and red plots before formally launching Forjas del Salnés in 2005. Rodri is also the nephew of Gerardo Méndez of Do Ferreiro, another reference Albariño producer in Val do Salnés.

• Founded 2005 by Rodrigo Méndez as a garage winery in Meaño; Rodri represents the fifth generation of a Galician family with roots reaching back more than three centuries
• Named after grandfather Francisco Méndez's iron forge; Francisco was part of the team that founded the Rías Baixas DO in 1988 and planted Caíño, Espadeiro, and Loureiro in 1980 against local advice
• Francisco died in 2001; Rodri inherited his Albariño and red plots and launched Forjas del Salnés four years later
• Rodri is the nephew of Gerardo Méndez of Do Ferreiro, another Val do Salnés Albariño reference; the wider Méndez network anchors the boutique Salnés story

The estate farms around 12 hectares across the villages of Meaño, Sanxenxo, and Barro, the heart of the Val do Salnés subzone. Vineyards sit below 100 metres elevation, with some parcels close to the Atlantic, exposing the vines to the cool maritime Atlantic climate that defines the Salnés style: high rainfall (around 1,600 mm annually), moderate average temperatures, and a long, slow ripening curve. Soils are dominated by granite bedrock with decomposed-granite topsoils (locally known as xábre) plus pockets of sand and alluvial deposits. The crown jewel is Finca Genoveva in Barro, roughly 2.5 hectares of very old ungrafted vines planted to Albariño and Caíño on granite. These pre-phylloxera plantings, generally cited as around 150 to 180 years old, are among the rarest old-vine parcels in Europe and the source of the single-vineyard Leirana Finca Genoveva Albariño. Across the broader holdings, Rodri farms organically with minimal intervention.

• Around 12 hectares across Meaño, Sanxenxo, and Barro in Val do Salnés; some parcels close to the Atlantic and below 100 metres elevation
• Cool maritime Atlantic climate: roughly 1,600 mm annual rainfall and moderate average temperatures; long ripening curve drives the Salnés signature of high acidity and saline minerality
• Soils dominated by granite bedrock with decomposed-granite topsoils (xábre), plus pockets of sand and alluvial deposits
• Finca Genoveva in Barro: roughly 2.5 hectares of very old ungrafted Albariño and Caíño vines on granite, generally cited as around 150 to 180 years old; source of the single-vineyard Leirana Finca Genoveva Albariño

Albariño dominates production, but the defining work at Forjas del Salnés has been the commercial revival of nearly extinct indigenous red varieties in a region where roughly 99 percent of plantings are still white. The reds, all bottled under the Goliardo label, focus on Caíño Tinto, Espadeiro, and Loureiro Tinto, the three varieties Francisco Méndez planted in 1980 and that had nearly disappeared from Galician viticulture elsewhere. Caíño Tinto, Espadeiro, and Loureiro are each produced as single-varietal bottlings in very small volumes, with annual production for each variety in the low thousands of bottles. The flagship red blend is Goliardo Tinto (formerly bottled as Bastión de la Luna), a Caíño-dominant blend that draws on the same three varieties. Winemaking follows a Burgundy-influenced light-extraction philosophy: whole-cluster fermentation, native yeasts, restrained extraction, and ageing in used oak with the goal of preserving aromatic transparency rather than building structure through extraction or new wood. Albariño winemaking is correspondingly low-intervention, with extended lees ageing on the flagship Leirana and the single-vineyard Genoveva.

• Albariño anchors production; the Goliardo label houses the revived indigenous reds (Caíño Tinto, Espadeiro, Loureiro Tinto) that grandfather Francisco planted in 1980
• Single-varietal Goliardo Caíño, Goliardo Espadeiro, and Goliardo Loureiro are each produced in very small volumes (each in the low thousands of bottles annually); Goliardo Tinto (formerly Bastión de la Luna) is the Caíño-led red blend
• Reds vinified in a Burgundy-influenced light-extraction style: whole-cluster fermentation, native yeasts, restrained extraction, used oak ageing; aromatic transparency over extraction or new oak
• Albariños made with native yeasts and extended lees ageing on Leirana and Leirana Finca Genoveva; minimal intervention runs through the range

Total production runs roughly 90,000 to 130,000 bottles annually across the Forjas del Salnés label and Rodri's personal Rodrigo Méndez label. The flagship Leirana Albariño is the multi-vineyard wine that established the estate's reputation: bright, saline, and built to age on the Val do Salnés granite signature. Leirana Finca Genoveva is the single-vineyard apex Albariño from the old ungrafted vines, with greater depth, mineral intensity, and longer cellaring potential. Cos Pés is a distinctive skin-contact white that adds a textural register to the range. The Goliardo reds (single-varietal Caíño, Espadeiro, Loureiro plus the Goliardo Tinto blend) sit alongside experimental small-format bottlings under the Rodrigo Méndez label, including a Pinot Noir from coastal vineyards. Rodri's long-running consulting collaboration with Raúl Pérez produced Sketch, an Albariño aged in the Atlantic Ocean off the Galician coast, exploring how marine pressure and temperature stability shape white-wine maturation. Tim Atkin MW named Rodri Winemaker of the Year in his 2025 Rías Baixas Special Report.

• Leirana Albariño is the flagship multi-vineyard Albariño that established the estate's reputation for age-worthy Val do Salnés whites
• Leirana Finca Genoveva: single-vineyard apex Albariño from the old ungrafted Genoveva vines; greater mineral depth and longer cellaring potential than Leirana
• Cos Pés (skin-contact Albariño) adds textural range; Goliardo reds revive Caíño Tinto, Espadeiro, and Loureiro in single-varietal bottlings plus the Goliardo Tinto blend (formerly Bastión de la Luna)
• Sketch (Raúl Pérez collaboration): Albariño aged in the Atlantic off the Galician coast; Rodrigo Méndez named Winemaker of the Year in Tim Atkin MW's 2025 Rías Baixas Special Report

Forjas del Salnés has become one of the reference addresses of the modern boutique Rías Baixas movement, anchoring the conversation about what serious indigenous-variety viticulture in Val do Salnés can look like beyond the cooperative-scale Martín Códax model and the prestige-tier Pazo de Señorans. The combination of very old ungrafted Albariño in Finca Genoveva, organic farming, minimal-intervention winemaking, and the commercial revival of Caíño Tinto, Espadeiro, and Loureiro has made the estate a benchmark for the contemporary Galician fine-wine movement. Rodri's family connection deepens the significance: grandfather Francisco's role in the 1988 Rías Baixas DO founding ties the estate's modern boutique register directly to the appellation's commercial origin, and the indigenous-red plantings Francisco made in 1980 are the genetic foundation Rodri now bottles. The Tim Atkin 2025 Winemaker of the Year recognition confirmed the international profile the estate had built since 2005, while the Sketch underwater collaboration with Raúl Pérez extends the project's experimental edge.

• Reference address of the modern boutique Rías Baixas revival; anchors the conversation about serious indigenous-variety viticulture in Val do Salnés beyond cooperative-scale and prestige-estate models
• Finca Genoveva's pre-phylloxera ungrafted Albariño plus the indigenous-red revival made the estate a benchmark for the contemporary Galician fine-wine movement
• Family connection ties modern boutique register to appellation origin: Francisco's role in the 1988 Rías Baixas DO founding and his 1980 plantings of Caíño, Espadeiro, and Loureiro
• Tim Atkin MW's 2025 Rías Baixas Special Report named Rodrigo Méndez Winemaker of the Year; long-running collaboration with Raúl Pérez extends the project's experimental edge through the underwater-aged Sketch Albariño