Ladeiras do Xil

Rafael Palacios isn’t the only Riojano winemaker to work in Valdeorras: Telmo Rodríguez and his winemaking partner Pablo Eguzkiza began working in the Bibei River Valley, in the south of Valdeorras, in 2002. They saw the region’s potential to make top-quality wines and set out to restore historic terraces. Ladeiras do Xil is named for the hillsides of the Sil River, and makes a red and white village wine as well as several “grand cru” single-vineyard red and white wines. Over the course of twenty years, Rodríguez and Eguzkiza have recovered centuries-old terraces surrounding the baroque church of Nosa Señora das Ermidas, as well as a pazo (Galician stone manor house) nearby, where they base the winemaking operation.