Collection: Sousón

Sousón is a red grape variety with roots in Galicia in north-western Spain. It produces deep, almost ink-dark red wines, and the colour is one of the grape's most distinctive hallmarks. At the same time, Sousón is a grape that can be difficult to ripen fully, and that is reflected in the style. You typically find a marked freshness and acidity rather than heavy, high-alcohol wines, which gives them a lively, firm structure.

At Copenhagen Wine, our Sousón comes from Spain, and especially from the Ribeira Sacra appellation, which accounts for the majority of our selection. Ribeira Sacra lies in the heart of Galician wine country, where the steep slopes and the Atlantic-influenced climate suit the grape's cool, acidity-fresh expression well. Sousón is also permitted in a number of other Galician appellations such as Rías Baixas, Ribeiro, Monterrei and Valdeorras, as well as in the IGP areas Barbanza e Iria and Valle del Miño-Ourense. In Ribeiro it even forms part of the sweet Tostado wines.

Sousón most often appears as part of a blend. Traditionally it is combined with Brancellao and Caíño Tinto in rustic Galician red wines, where the three grapes complement one another. You may, however, also encounter Sousón as a single varietal, where its deep colour and fresh acidity are allowed to stand alone.

If you cross the border into Portugal, the grape goes by the name Vinhão. Here it is widespread in Vinho Verde and is also found in Douro, so Sousón has a solid footing on both sides of the Galician-Portuguese border. That makes it an exciting way into the Atlantic, acidity-fresh red wines from the north-western corner of the Iberian Peninsula, if you are curious about something that differs from the warmer, fuller Spanish reds.