The 4,800ha wine region now known as Rías Baixas first gained appellation status in the early 1980s, as DO Albariño.

However, when Spain joined the EU in 1986, a geographic designation became mandatory and the name Rías Baixas was chosen.

This term refers to the picturesque estuaries that shape Galicia’s west coast, the source of superb fish and other seafood.

The main wine-producing area of Rías Baixas, Salnés, is strategically located between the Arousa and Pontevedra estuaries.

A popular tourist destination, it combines a rich cultural and gastronomic heritage with a landscape of contrasts, where mountains merge with the coastline.

Due to real estate pressure, land is very expensive, so selling vineyards is a lucrative business opportunity.

Nevertheless, according to the DO Rías Baixas 2025 vintage report summary, this area accounted for 65% of the wider region’s grape output in the 2025 harvest.

There are four other sub-zones in Rías Baixas. O Rosal, in the south, is the only one of these that faces the sea, at the mouth of the river Miño, which marks the border with Portugal.

Further inland, upriver, lies Condado do Tea, a warmer, drier area. A little to the north, between Condado do Tea and Salnés, lies the tiny Soutomaior.

And to the north of Salnés, also inland, is Ribeira do Ulla, an emergent area for larger planting operations given the DO’s smallholding area of 4,800ha distributed across about 24,000 plots.

It’s no surprise that, in the past, people made the most of the land by growing vegetables under the vine pergolas.

Albariño explosion

Given there were just over 200ha of Albariño in all of Galicia in 1999 (according to data from the Spain vineyard register, compiled by Madrid’s agricultural research institute IMIDRA), the DO has experienced meteoric growth.

Climate change has certainly helped.

As part of ‘Green Spain’, Rías Baixas remains one of the wettest wine regions in the world, with an annual average rainfall of 1,400mm-1,600mm.

Organic growing is still rare, but summers are drier now. ‘We’ve gone from harvesting in autumn to summer,’ says Eulogio Pomares of Bodegas Zárate. ‘This has solved many issues related to botrytis, poor ripeness and rainfall at harvest time.’

The largest vineyard areas are controlled by the cooperatives in Salnés, such as Martín Códax, Paco & Lola and Condes de Albarei.

The rest is shared among small- to medium-sized local producers and external players, notably from Rioja, which have been setting up in the area since the late 1980s. Most of them buy grapes from local growers.

With consumption of white wines on the rise, the last decade has seen a second wave of investors, including Ribera del Duero’s Vega Sicilia, whose much-anticipated first release from its new Bodegas y Viñedos Deiva project in Crecente (Condado do Tea) is scheduled for 2027.

This has caused an increase in demand for grapes, rising prices and new plantings, which have eventually led to a major correction in grape prices in 2025, when the area harvested a record 47.5 million kilograms.

Another generous harvest will probably challenge wine sales.

Levelling up

A growing number of producers are now focused on premiumisation.

This is usually achieved by either extending ageing of the wine on lees to gain complexity and ageing potential; by introducing vessels other than stainless steel (oak foudres, concrete, granite, amphorae); by focusing on specific soils or areas; or by producing single-vineyard wines.

There’s plenty to choose from. Most vineyards in Rías Baixas are planted on granite soils that have undergone varying degrees of weathering.

This often results in a sandy texture that has preserved small batches of ungrafted and pre-phylloxera vines. Schist veins and alluvial deposits can also be found in most sub-zones.

Other differences can also be brought about by elevation of vineyards, exposure and proximity to the sea and rivers. The drawback of most single-vineyard wines is that they’re produced in limited quantities.

Points of difference

With Albariño accounting for 97% of overall production in Rías Baixas, there’s little room for other varieties.

However, choosing to produce Godello, Treixadura (more common in Condado do Tea) or Caíño Blanco – a variety recovered by Terras Gauda in O Rosal – is a way to stand out.

White blends are more common in Condado do Tea, thanks to the presence of Treixadura, and O Rosal, the sub-zone featuring more varietal diversity, yet this category remains uncharted territory when it comes to high-end wines.

Traditional-method Albariño sparkling wines and reds are the two other small slices of the Rías Baixas pie.

With their vigorous bubbles and relatively high prices, it’s difficult for Albariño to compete with Cava and other Spanish sparkling wines, but extended ageing might help change that.

With alcohol levels of around 11%-12% – probably the lowest in Spain – the Rías Baixas red wines are a small but interesting category.

Climate change, together with some excellent local varieties, such as Espadeiro, Caíño and Brancellao, will undoubtedly boost the category.

Pioneer red wine producer Forjas del Salnés has been perfecting its selection process since 2024, and the winery now harvests grapes at different stages, relying exclusively on fully ripe berries.

This results in wines with more fruit and a slightly higher alcohol content, while retaining the area’s natural acidity.

20 of the best from Rías Baixas (and not just Albariño)

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The greatest grapes, like the most influential leaders, will only achieve widespread adulation if they can perform under a diverse range of conditions.

Ideally, they should possess characteristics that appeal to experienced enthusiasts and neophytes alike.

There’s a reason why Chardonnay, for instance, is the most-planted white grape variety in the world (other than Spain’s Airén, which is used in brandy production).

Depending on how and where it’s grown, it can be profound, rich and ageworthy, or fun, bright and ready-to-drink.

Albariño, while hardly threatening to usurp Chardonnay’s crown as king of white grapes, is gaining acclaim across the world, for many of the same reasons.

Scroll down for notes and scores of 18 superb Albariño wines from beyond Spain

The ancient grape (known as Alvarinho in Portugal) came to prominence on the Iberian peninsula. For centuries, it has dominated plantings in Rías Baixas, in northwestern Spain, and Vinho Verde in Portugal’s far north.

But now Albariño’s dominion is expanding, as winemakers across the globe embrace its versatility.

Albariño’s litheness in the vineyard is mirrored in the cellar, with expressions ranging from complex and elegant to fun and zippy, depending on when and how the fresh, fruit-forward grape is harvested, fermented and aged.

California

Albariño plantings have been on the rise for years in California. According to the most recent annual report from the US Department of Agriculture, in 2024 there were 280ha under vine.

This is up from 124ha in 2015 – an increase of 126%. It thrives particularly well in Lodi, which produced 33% of the state’s total last year, according to the Lodi Winegrape Commission.

Markus Bokisch (pictured, above) of Bokisch Vineyards was one of the first to identify Albariño’s promise in California, bringing it to Lodi from Rías Baixas in 1998 and harvesting his first Albariño grapes in 2000.

Having previously worked with the variety in Penedès and noting how easy it was to grow, he felt sure that it could work in Lodi’s hot conditions – even if a little tweaking might be required.

‘Climatically, we’re not Rías Baixas, so even though the soils match, we knew that we’d have to make adjustments to get the results I wanted,’ Bokisch explains.

‘We hit [ripeness level] 21 Brix in August, one month earlier than Galicia, so that’s when we picked it, even though the grapes were just showing precursors to the aromatics we wanted.’

The experiment was a revelation, yielding tasting notes that didn’t make immediate sense. ‘I always assumed the brininess of Albariño from Rías Baixas came from its maritime location, but clearly it’s not coming from sea mist,’ says Bokisch.

‘We get the brininess here, which means it must be the soil. Some of the fruit flavours you expect are also dialled up, kissed by California sun,’ he adds. Rather than lemons, Albariño in Lodi may show tangerines, or grapefruit in cooler years.

California Albariño to seek out: Bokisch Vineyards, Imagery Estate Winery, Scheid Vineyards, Tangent.

Oregon

Further north on the US west coast, Oregon is also embracing Albariño’s potential, with Abacela winery leading the way.

While there are now just 63ha planted, according to the 2024 Oregon Vineyard & Winery Report, what exists is beloved by growers, merchants and consumers.

‘We bought the property in the Umpqua Valley because my dad thought it would be promising for Iberian varieties,’ says Greg Jones, CEO of Abacela (pictured, above). ‘We couldn’t find any good Albariño initially.’

But then he located a source for an alleged ‘suitcase clone’ [grapevine cuttings imported illicitly, bypassing official phytosanitary restrictions] that had been secreted into California during the 1990s.

Abacela planted in 2000 and now has about 5.2ha thriving across the estate. ‘Comparing our results with Galicia, the phenology performance is very similar, with bloom, veraison and harvest happening here within one to two days of Galicia,’ he says.

‘Our soils are slightly older, but rainfall, and growing temperature and degree days are very similar.’

In the glass, saltiness is less prevalent in Oregon, but the liveliness and Meyer lemon flower power is there. Acacia wood ageing brings notes of apple and pear, and rounds out some of the hyperactive zing.

Other producers, such as Cyler Varnum, co-owner of Varnum Vintners in the Willamette Valley, are turning to Albariño because of changing climatic conditions.

‘The warming trend in the Willamette Valley is impossible to ignore,’ he says. ‘We’re experimenting with fermenting and ageing for six months in neutral French oak, and partial skin contact, which improves texture and softens the acids.’

In the glass, Oregon Albariño is generally more round and fruit-forward than its Galician counterpart. It is slightly less saline but as bright and fresh, with added texture and complexity thanks to innovative ageing.

Oregon Albariño to seek out: Abacela, Analemma Wines, Varnum Vintners.

Uruguay

In 2002, winemaker and director of Bodega Bouza Dr Eduardo Boido planted Uruguay’s first Albariño.

Today, one winemaker growing 0.87ha has expanded to 38 winemakers and growers cultivating 95ha, according to data from INAVI, Uruguay’s National Viticulture Institute.

Boido pioneered Albariño because of the family’s Galician heritage and its belief that the grape would thrive in Uruguay’s rainy climate. ‘Its loose clusters and small berries with thick skins make it well-suited to adapting to climates like ours,’ he explains.

Plantings have ticked up as other producers, such as Bodega Familia Deicas and Bodega Garzón (pictured, above), have invested in both single-variety expressions and white blends that highlight Albariño.

While Bouza opts for a bright, party-ready expression of young Albariño (fermentation is mainly in stainless steel tanks with selected yeasts),

Deicas is tending more towards deep aromas and ageworthy elegance (spontaneous fermentation happens in Burgundian oak barrels, then the wine is aged for 15 months in barrels).

Across the Canelones region, terroir factors such as proximity to the Atlantic, and diverse set of volcanic and granitic soils, are making for some seriously exciting Albariños.

Uruguay Albariño to seek out: Bouza, Familia Deicas, Garzón.

Chile

Albariño made its way into Chile as late as 2009, with the first 0.47ha registered in Maule, according to Wines of Chile.

The Catastro Vitivinícola Nacional, Chile’s national vineyard statistical survey, records that plantings have now increased to 17.4ha, out of 124,436ha – still a minuscule percentage, but a sign of enthusiasm.

‘Interest is clearly rising among both winemakers and sommeliers, particularly as the market looks for fresh, distinctive white wines with character and versatility,’ says Julio Alonso (pictured, above), executive director for Wines of Chile North America, adding that producers are most eager to explore coastal areas with granite-based soils.

‘The variety’s natural freshness, balanced acidity and elegant aromatics resonate well with today’s consumers, who are shifting toward lighter styles with strong mineral expression,’ he says.

Albariños from powerhouse premium producers such as Montes make the most of cool nights, ancient granitic soils and proximity to the ocean (the company’s Zapallar estate in Aconcagua is 11km from the Pacific) to produce fresh, saline wines with more vibrancy, tension and defined minerality than their Spanish and Portuguese cousins.

Chile Albariño to seek out: Garcés Silva, Montes, MontGras.

New Zealand

Plantings of Albariño in New Zealand are relatively small, but generating excitement.

There were 75ha under vine in 2024, up from 64ha in 2023, according to the 2024 New Zealand Winegrowers Vineyard Report.

The first planting occurred as recently as in 2009, but already Albariño can be found throughout the country, with particular concentrations in Gisborne, Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay.

Nelson’s Neudorf Vineyards, which farms organically, sees great promise in Albariño’s flavour profile and natural fungus-fighting abilities.

‘We first planted it in 2013, because it suits the Nelson profile beautifully,’ notes sales and marketing director Rosie Finn (pictured, above).

‘We have slightly higher rainfall than Marlborough and long sunshine hours. Albariño has naturally thick skins, which makes it hardy in tougher vintages and is especially helpful when farming organically.’

Babich Wines initially planted Albariño because the late Joe Babich wanted to investigate how ‘alternative’ varieties could perform in the vineyard and cellar.

‘The thick-skinned berries and loose bunch structure make it particularly suitable for the more challenging conditions in Auckland,’ says David Babich, current CEO.

‘Marlborough Albariño tends to come through brighter aromatically and on the palate. Ours is fresh and rich in flavour, with citrus and stone fruit.’

Daniel Brennan made his first Albariño for Decibel Wines in 2023, finding it was a hit at consumer tastings.

‘It’s a win for everyone,’ he says. ‘Winemakers love it for the acidity, which we can soften in neutral barrels if we need to. And consumers love it because it’s crisp, bright and has salinity, with the warm hug of apricots and peaches. It’s not too racy like some acid-driven whites.’

NZ Albariño to seek out: Decibel, Neudorf, Nautilus Estate, Villa Maria.

Albariño around the world: the best of the rest

A host of other countries and regions are betting on the future of Albariño, thanks to its climate hardiness and consumer-friendly profile.

Argentina

The relentlessly experimental Zuccardi Valle de Uco planted Albariño in 2015 in its San Pablo vineyard, in one of the coolest pockets of the Uco Valley, with calcareous soils.

Winemaker Sebastián Zuccardi (pictured, above) ages and ferments in concrete to allow the grape’s purest expression to emerge.

‘It shows citrus and yellow fruit, but the fingerprint of the calcareous soils creates a different structure than Albariño from Spain and Portugal,’ he says.

Names to look for: Zuccardi.

Australia

Initially Australian growers mistakenly planted Savagnin as Albariño.

The mix-up has been fixed, but there is still only a tiny amount of Albariño produced, with fewer than 1,000 litres exported to Japan, Hong Kong, the UK and Guam, according to Wine Australia.

Briar Ridge has 1.8ha of Albariño under vine in the Hunter Valley, which winemaker Andrew Duff makes ‘like Hunter Semillon, with at least three months of time spent on lees to aid in mid-palate weight – I aim for freshness and fruit dominance’.

Names to look for: Bassham Wines, Briar Ridge, Mallee Estate.

South Africa

‘Growers in a number of areas are exploring Albariño and plantings, while small, have quadrupled in the past 10 years,’ says Jim Clarke, marketing manager for Wines of South Africa.

‘The variety does very well on granitic soils, which South Africa has plenty of.’

Names to look for: Migliarina, Newton Johnson, Spier, Springfield Estate.

Washington State, USA

With its Idilico label, Pomum Cellars focuses exclusively on Spanish varieties grown in Washington State.

Owner Javier Alfonso believes Albariño is ideal for the region. ‘We assumed it would ripen early because it’s considerably warmer here, but it ripens late in the white grape season,’ he says.

‘Plant vigour is not excessive and the acidity is amazingly high, which is great here, where we struggle to maintain naturally high acid in white wines.’ Washington Albariño offers ripe stone fruits, with a soft, plush mouthfeel.

Names to look for: Grosgrain Vineyards, Idilico.

18 Albariño from around the globe:

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Happy birthday to us!

Leader: Amy Wislocki, Magazine Editor

I don’t think a magazine should go overboard about its own internal milestones, but in addition to the usual content mix, we have taken the opportunity this month to mark our 50th birthday with a look back at Decanter’s journey. We also share pictures from our birthday bash, and hear from readers about how Decanter has helped them in their own wine journeys. I’m glad we have some female voices in there, but it was harder than it should have been to find them. (On a similar note, see our guest column, on the dominance of men in the wine collecting community.) Let’s hope that 50 years from now, women have a more equal footing in the fine wine world, and Decanter is still helping them on their way!

See what’s inside Decanter magazine August 2025

In focus

• Decanter at 50: A timeline Marking a major milestone in this magazine’s history, we present the key events, dates and people in our journey so far
• Decanter at 50: Time to party Photos from a night of splendid celebration with wine friends from around the world, including past Hall of Fame award winners
• Decanter at 50: Over to you Eight readers on how Decanter has helped them in their adventures in wine
• Albariño beyond Iberia Is this the wine world’s next Great White Grape? Kathleen Willcox thinks so
• Chianti Classico latest releases Michaela Morris appraises the new-release vintages of annata, Riserva and Gran Selezione, with 30 wines to buy
• One to watch: Trait Wines A small producer very much on the rise in Western Australia. By Sophie Thorpe
• Does affordable Champagne still exist? Tom Hewson argues there is still value to be had below £40 per bottle in the UK, picking 15 to try
• Piquette What? A formerly forbidden by-product of wine, it’s the on-trend lower-alcohol option, reports Josh Dell

Spirits

• Distilled Spirits news
• 70 Ginebra: gin with Spanish style Julie Sheppard recommends delicious gins with a distinctly Iberian spin

Food & travel

• Head to head Does food and wine pairing actually matter? Alder Yarrow and Fiona Beckett have strong views!
• What to pair with salads One of summer’s trickiest wine conundrums, but Victoria Moore has the answers
• Travel: A wine lover’s guide to Margaux Charlie Geoghegan in one of the world’s top-rated wine regions

Learning

• Books etc Sophie Thorpe on three very different introductory wine books
• Wine wisdom Expert advice, and ‘The Ethical drinker’ on moves to better conditions for vineyard workers

Buying guide

• Editors’ picks Decanter staff share highlights from their recent tastings
• Panel tasting: Blaufränkisch 87 wines tasted, with six Outstanding, 38 scoring 90-93pts – a high standard for this still-niche European red
• Panel tasting: Aegean island whites There’s plenty of flavour to discover among these 59 wines tasted
• Expert’s choice: Portuguese rosés Regional Editor Ines Salpico’s pick of 18 fascinatingly varied pink styles
• Weekday wines Decanter’s in-house tasting team brings you 25 top picks, ready to drink and priced at £30 or less
• Weekend wines Priced £30-£60, seven standout buys to impress
• DWWA 2025 highlights 14 medal winners from lesser-known Spain

Collecting & investing

• Marketwatch Auction news and new releases, plus Bordeaux bright spots

Regulars

• Writing this month Meet four of the authors from this month’s Decanter
• Uncorked News, inspiration & more
• Andrew Jefford’s column
• Hugh Johnson’s column
• Guest column Laura Taylor on the need to attract more female buyers
• New York Fine Wine Encounter 2025 Photos from our fantastic event
• The Last Drop Celebrity bottles, ice cream and wine, and more…

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Light-bodied, fresh and with mouth-watering acidity, Albariño is an indigenous white grape variety from the Iberian Peninsula, popular worldwide for its crisp citrus, stone fruit, light floral flavours and saline edge.

Albariños can be ageworthy too, developing notes like preserved lemon and honey while gaining concentration, additional body and creaminess – particularly for wines aged on their lees during the winemaking process.

Primarily grown in Spain and Portugal, where it’s known as Alvarinho, Albariño has made its mark globally, as showcased by recent Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) results, with medal-winning wines emerging from New Zealand and Uruguay.

The maritime-influenced region of Rías Baixas in Galicia, northwest Spain, however, is the heartland of Albariño, and dominated the 2025 competition with one Platinum and more Gold medals.

Scroll down to discover 15 Albariño wines to try from DWWA 2025

This year’s highlight however, was the Best in Show winning wine from Vinho Verde, which judges described as a ‘benchmark example’ with an impressive palate. Vinho Verde also claimed four Golds for varietal or Alvarinho dominant wines, one of which made it to the 30 Top Value Golds list (wines under £15), a testament to the variety’s quality and versatility.

DWWA Co-Chair Sarah Jane Evans MW said, ‘You can get wine from extraordinary places, but I’m going to tell you about Spain because that’s, I think, the most exciting country in Europe. In the rainy and cold Atlantic in northwest Spain, all around Galicia, there are so many different wines to find. Just remember Galicia or the Mediterranean coast. You can’t go wrong.’ 

To celebrate Albariño Day on 1 August, explore 15 DWWA 2025 award-winning wines to try from Spain and beyond. Discover many more on our results site at awards.decanter.com

Albariño Day: 15 award-winning wines to try

Best in Show

Soalheiro, Monção e Melgaço, Vinho Verde, Portugal 2024

Best in Show, 97 points

Our Portuguese panel has been alive to the vibe from Moncão et Melgaço in Vinho Verde for some years now (with a Best in Show in our 2021 competition), so it was gratifying to see this benchmark example cruise its way back into this year’s selection. ‘Green’ is often an insult in winemaking terms, but in Portugal’s granite-soiled Vinho Verde (‘green wine’) region, it’s a prerequisite. The joy of Alvarinho, of course, is that it adds an extra aromatic note of floral charm here (apricots are more typical in Galicia), so your journey into the wine is as much journey into flower garden as it is forest glade. The palate is impressive: there’s nothing slender or shivering about it, nor does it rely on sweet tweaks. Instead it’s svelte and textured, with density to match the wine’s natural drive and freshness. Its 12.5% is low enough to make it a white to drink, not to sip … with or without food: this wine would make both a quenching aperitif and a perfect summer-salad white. Alcohol 12.5%

New Zealand

Yealands Estate, Single Vineyard Albarino, Awatere Valley, Marlborough 2024

Silver, 93 points

Enticing varietal bouquet with blossom, white peach and citrus characters. Densely fruited with a juicy palate and long finish. Charming. Alc 13.5%

Portugal

Anselmo Mendes, Pingo Doce, Monção e Melgaço, Vinho Verde 2024

Gold, 95 points

Alive with lemon verbena, coriander herbs and white flowers that dance over the nose and palate, refined by a firm, mineral structure and citrus zest acidity. Alc 12.5%

Casal Ventozela, Azul Marinho, Vinho Verde 2024

Value Gold, 95 points

A wonderful varietal showcase of ripe pear, peach, apricot and mandarin aroma with a riveting herbaceous complexity and supple citrus acidity. Long, elegant and rewarding. Alc 12.5%

Provam, Varanda Do Conde, Monção e Melgaço, Vinho Verde 2024

Value Gold, 95 points

Inviting acacia florals, crushed herbs and juicy white peaches intertwine with a tangy nerve of acidity and a gorgeous saline mineral character which persists towards the long finish. Alc 13%

Quinta de Paços, Unfiltered, Monção e Melgaço, Vinho Verde 2020

Gold, 95 points

Thriving with yellow apple, peach and white flower notes which spill out onto complex structure, gifted with mouth-watering lime zest acidity and a precise mineral finish. Alc 13.5%

Spain

Adegas Valmiñor, Rías Baixas 2024

Platinum, 97 points

Elaborate swirls of lime, lemon, passionfruit and white peach entice the nose whilst the pristine purity of acidity and mineral freshness disarms the terroir-driven palate. Salty, linear and tangy, demonstrating Atlantic style at its best. Alc 13%

Bodegas Aquitania, Bernon, Rías Baixas 2024

Gold, 96 points

Emanating Atlantic Ocean zeal and drive; bursting with peach, pear, apricot and orange blossom perfume, with salivating acidity and a progressive mineral structure. Long and expressive. Alc 13%

Vía Barrosa, Rías Baixas 2024

Gold, 96 points

Filled with energy and enthusiasm: lifted flinty florals intertwine with capacious apricots, peaches and citrus. Fulsome and rounded with zesty acidity and a succulent salty finish. Alc 12.5%

Bodega Davide, 2º Año, Rías Baixas 2024

Gold, 95 points

Ebullient passionfruit, peach, apricot and grapefruit aromas frolic across the nose, lining the broad, generous palate. Crisp and rasping with a salty twist at the end. Alc 13%

Pazo de Rubianes, García de Caamaño, Rías Baixas 2021

Gold, 95 points

Lithe and nimble notes of lily and peach blossom invigorate the welcoming spritz on the palate, and infuse the appealing tangerine acidity. Crisp and long. Alc 13.5%

Maior de Mendoza, 3 Crianzas, Rías Baixas 2021

Silver, 94 points

Perfumed and refined, with rose petals, peaches and citrus fruit aromas on the nose. Showing tension and a salty finish. Alc 12%

Martín Códax, Arousa, Rías Baixas 2022

Silver, 94 points

Refined, with peachy fruit aromas and notes of lemon blossom and lime juice. Bright and lively acidity, elegant and pure. Alc 12.5%

Uruguay

Altos de Jose Ignacio, Reserva 2024

Silver, 94 points

Peachy nose with aromas of wet stones, citrus zest, white pepper and yellow flowers. Ripe palate, with a lovely tension. Alc 13%

Bodega Garzón, Reserva 2024

Silver, 94 points

Lovely floral lift, stone fruit character and salty undertones. The palate is rich with a lovely acid core. Saline finish. Alc 13%

Search all DWWA 2025 results

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Stories of appellations and wine regions hamstrung by their commercial success abound. A boom in popularity can sometimes come at the cost of diversity – both stylistic and viticultural – and identity.

Perhaps this could have been said of Vinho Verde in the late 1990s, when its off-dry, fruit-driven, slightly fizzy iterations were ubiquitous. Not so today.

The northwestern corner of Portugal has re-emerged as an exciting region with an appreciation and understanding of tradition and terroir differences, as well as an appetite for experimentation.

A new generation of winemakers has begun to come to the fore, leading the transformation of existing (sometimes their own family’s) estates and starting new, niche projects in collaboration with local growers.

They’ve expanded the regional repertoire by reviving an almost forgotten wealth of historical varieties and styles.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 18 dazzling Vinho Verde wines

A world of flavour

The selection of wines that follows highlights the diversity and quality on offer today. It’s a cue to explore the region’s sub-regions, varieties and winemaking philosophies – from the classical purists to the low-intervention mavericks.

Think of Vinho Verde as a plural, not singular, designation of origin, with the common denominators of winemaking acumen and a sense of purpose: each wine presents a sub-region, specific vineyard, grape variety or blend with a clear intent.

Much of that clarity is a product of an increasing exploration of terroir diversity and of the varieties that thrive in and/or are historically relevant to each of the nine sub-regions.

The DOC’s rules permit 45 different grape varieties, yet Alvarinho, Arinto and Loureiro represent 57.6% of the region’s grapes.

The role that others – such as Azal, Avesso, Gouveio (Godello) and Trajadura (Treixadura) – can play is now being reconsidered, as winemakers develop a better appreciation of regional nuance.

All in the detail

Also of note is the renewed attention given to old-vine field blends – many trained along the traditional, pergola-like ramadas – mostly thanks to young, well-travelled winemakers attuned to the appeal of the vibrant wines these produce.

Dominated by local red varieties, the trend has also shed new light on the region’s rosé and red wines. Although known today as a region of great whites – which, as shown here, it indisputably is – Vinho Verde actually produced mostly red wine until the late 20th century.

But many of the local varieties – thin-skinned, with low alcohol potential – did not appeal to either producers or consumers. That reality is changing fast, as both winemakers and markets increasingly value freshness, subtlety and elegance.

Among the star performers is Alvarelhão, the ‘Pinot Noir of Vinho Verde’ according to Anselmo Mendes, one of Vinho Verde’s most renowned winemakers. Along with other thin-skinned grapes, such as Padeiro and Espadeiro, it was until recently seen as a fussy, lesser variety.

The deeply coloured Vinhão, a teinturier grape (with dark flesh as well as skins), was favoured to produce the rustic pinta malgas (‘bowl painter’) Vinhos Verdes.

Vinho Verde’s heritage is aligned with the current consumer demand for lighter, lower-alcohol wines and for the need, in the face of climate change, to experiment with alternative grape varieties.

There is a sizeable pool of winemakers in the region, with very different philosophies but the same technical ability and passion, leveraging this huge potential.

These wines will hopefully challenge you to reassess Vinho Verde not just as a source of great-value, early-drinking wines – which it still is, and long may it be so – but also of truly special bottles of remarkable character and ageing potential.

See notes and scores for 18 dazzling Vinho Verde wines of all hues

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Looking back over my tasting highlights of 2023, what really stands out is the growing mastery of South America’s winemakers with the goldilocks varieties of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Limarí and Gualtallary are – in my opinion at least – bonafide ‘grands crus’ for these varieties. However Aconcagua Costa and Malleco are increasingly prevalent too. Tabalí, Reta, Catena Zapata, Errázuriz and Vinos Baettig are notable disciples.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Amanda Barnes’ top 10 South American wines of 2023

That being said, it was actually the rather more unusual locations that really caught my eye this year.

One of the best Chardonnays I tasted in 2023 came unexpectedly from a boutique producer in Brazil’s emerging Serra do Sudeste region. To the other extreme, deep in Argentinian Patagonia, the world’s southernmost commercial winery, Otronia, has been producing excellent Chardonnay since its first vintage, but it is the new 2021 vintage of Pinot Noir that I found to be a great surprise.

From Chile, I have thoroughly enjoyed drinking Rafael Tirado’s Pinot Noir, which offers excellent value for money and still begs the question as to why he is the lone producer in Maule’s Andes mountains. Another, which is not available outside of Chile yet, is JP Martin’s brilliant Pinot Noir from Huasco… made in the Atacama Desert no less!

Malbec shines

The other variety that has really shone this year is, perhaps less surprisingly, Malbec. I particularly enjoyed the distinctive expressions coming from old vines in Maule, with the wines of Reta and Miguel Torres’ Los Inquietos, as well as the tippy top altitude expressions of Humahuaca in northern Argentina with Cielo Arriba. We have also seen some real leaps in quality in the Uco Valley, which continues to drive forward Argentina’s top wines.

The long-awaited debut release from Altos Las Hormigas’ Jardin Altamira vineyard is one of the best wines I have tasted this year. It can sit proudly alongside the other noble Malbecs coming from Zuccardi, El Enemigo, Catena Zapata and PerSe. These wines reflect Argentina embracing a more Burgundian ethos, while also bravely showing their own distinct personality.

Old vine stars

Other varieties that are rightfully gaining more recognition are the humble, old-vine wines made from Cinsault, País and the Criolla varieties. The beautiful old vines and authentic wines from Chile’s Itata, Bio Bio and Maule Valleys continue to excite me, with producers such as Leo Erazo, Bouchon and Garage Wine Co leading the charge.

Meanwhile the Criolla revolution happening in eastern and northern Mendoza is giving new value to the under-appreciated old vines in the region. Radical bottles from La Cayetana, Lucas Niven, Mariana Onofri and Matias Morcos have kept my glass more than half full this year.

Coastal bottles

There is also a growing confidence and skill among winemakers for making refreshing but also profound maritime wines. Albariño continues to firmly put Uruguay on the vinous map and producers including Familia Deicas, Bouza, Garzón, Cerro del Toro and the edgy new project of Michelini i Mufatto are some of my favourites to look out for.

Meanwhile in Chile, the underdog variety of Syrah is really finding its feet in the coastal regions of San Antonio, Casablanca and Limari. The excellent top wine from Matetic proves how good these wines become with time, if you are patient enough to wait…

Amanda Barnes’ top 10 South American wines of 2023

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When the Fiesta del Albariño began in 1953, it was very low-key – there were so few Albariños produced at the time that the same producer won the Best of Show award three years in a row – but it’s mushroomed into something much more substantial, with parades, concerts, workshops and loads of wines.

A couple of weeks before this summer’s event, Galicia hosted another, much smaller festival in the village of As Neves, close to the Portuguese border. This was the 17th edition of the Feria del Tinto de Rías Baixas, devoted to the region’s reds. Red plantings account for just under 1% of the Denominación de Origen’s 4,480ha, compared with Albariño’s 96%, so you can understand why the Feria is, of necessity, a more select event. And yet its significance is definitely growing.

The numbers are still comparatively small, but Rías Baixas’ reds are some of the most exciting in Spain right now – a secret that’s been shared by Hispanophiles for the past decade and is finally reaching a larger audience. Anyone who’s tasted the wines made by the likes of Albamar, Forjas del Salnés, Fulcro and Zárate – all brilliant Albariño producers, too – will surely agree. They are what Xurxo Alba of Albamar calls ‘reds with the souls of whites’: fresh, light-bodied, complex and wonderfully distinctive.

Wines from varieties such as Caiño Tinto or Espadeiro may seem new, but Galicia has a long history of growing red grapes. One of the most famous poems in the Galician language, Ramón Cabanillas’ Facing a Cup of Espadeiro Wine, hymned the latter grape’s nobility in 1917. Indeed, as recently as the 1970s, the overwhelming majority of what are now Rías Baixas’ vineyards were red. (The DO wasn’t created until 1988.) Marcos Barros of Maior de Mendoza, who’s just released a new blend called Variedades Tintas, told me that one of his strongest childhood memories was ‘treading red grapes with my grandfather’.

Why weren’t these wines better known? Firstly, most of them were produced in small quantities and drunk by the people who made them, or consumed in local bars and restaurants. Even today, Galician vineyards are generally atomised, divided into thousands of minifundios, or smallholdings. Also, they were often pretty rustic, with tooth enamel-threatening levels of acidity and rough, green, hair-shirt tannins.

Several things have helped to revolutionise the image of Rías Baixas’ reds. Climate change is the most important. Galicia remains a comparatively wet place to grow grapes, but harvests today are generally two weeks earlier than they were at the turn of the century. In the past, red grapes often struggled to ripen – and failed to do so entirely on occasion. Those warmer growing seasons started in 2011 and, despite the odd exception in later-picked vintages like 2021, have continued ever since. As a result, the region’s reds are much more consistent than they were.

Inspired by bodegas in Ribeira Sacra and, just over the border into Castilla y León, Bierzo, Rías Baixas started to take its own reds seriously again in 2005. That was the year when Rodri Méndez of Forjas del Salnés (aided by Bierzo superstar Raúl Pérez) and Señorío de Rubiós made their first reds. Sales were slow at first, but people gradually began to realise how brilliant these reds could be – and how much diversity they offer. In 2010, there were 16 producers; today, 45 of the region’s 178 bodegas make reds as well as whites.

Mencía, the main grape in Bierzo and Ribeira Sacra, is the second most planted red in Rías Baixas. But the list of eight permitted varieties also includes Brancellao, Caiño Tinto, Castañal, Espadeiro, Loureira Tinta, Pedral and Sousón, some of which are grown across the Miño river in Portugal, too. All of them have their qualities, but Espadeiro is the most fragrant and refined. Ramón Cabanillas, the poet who praised its unique qualities, was right all along.

In my glass this month

Rodri Méndez’s lipsmacking 93-point red Forjas del Salnés, Goliardo Tintos de Mar 2020 (£20 Decántalo) uses more or less equal amounts of Caiño Tinto, Espadeiro and Loureira Tinta from the Salnés Valley with Sousón from the warmer Condado de Tea sub-region. Bright, tangy, refreshing and energetic, it’s quintessential stuff, with redcurrant and pomegranate fruit, top notes of mint and wild herbs and thrilling minerality.

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Sarah Jane Evans MW, Pierre Mansour and Beth Willard tasted 137 wines, with 1 Exceptional, 5 Outstanding and 71 Highly recommended.

Albariño: Panel tasting scores

137 wines tasted

Exceptional 1

Outstanding 5

Highly recommended 71

Recommended 59

Commended 1

Fair 0

Poor 0

Entry criteria: Producers and UK agents were invited to submit their current-release vintages of still white wines made from 100% Albariño

Search this website for Rías Baixas Albariño reviews and you will find we did a panel tasting way back in 2016. It was already an established favourite on wine lists: the new face of Spanish white, peachy and unoaked. We talked then of the risk that global demand was turning Albariño into another Pinot Grigio.

The verdict then was that it was a tasting of two halves. Said Pierre Mansour at the time: there were ‘some truly great [wines] with real identity and class… no poor or faulty wines, but too many neutral ones’.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores from the Albariño panel tasting

Fast forward to 2023 and we expected a similar outcome, using the classic Albariño vocabulary: peach, citrus, white flowers. To our delight, we found we were using a much broader range of descriptors: flint, mineral, saline, Atlantic, preserved lemon, elderflower, dried mango, savoury, serious… Altogether it was a really enjoyable tasting, full of promise for lovers of Atlantic whites. Seven years on, Mansour was delighted to declare: ‘The overall standard was very high.’

Our verdicts can be divided into three: quality, diversity, ageability. In terms of quality, the results speak for themselves. More than half of the wines scored 90 points or more. Six scored 95pts or more: each one a different style. Only one wine was faulty (corked, so not included in this coverage). However, the quality of these wines is reflected in their pricing. ‘Albariño is not a value wine,’ observed Mansour. We looked to recommend value wines but it was difficult. Of the 18 wines priced at £15 or under, only one scored 93pts, and the rest 91pts or less.

On diversity, Beth Willard confirmed that ‘clearly, Rías Baixas is not homogenous’. Gone are the uniform descriptors. Today the sub-zones, north to south, reveal their differences – from the seashell, saline notes of many (coastal) Salnés sub-zone wines to the ripeness of Condado do Tea – a little more inland and warmer, on the banks of the river Tea – and the distinct fennel character noted by Willard of the O Rosal sub-zone wines. Equally, the winemaking was diverse – but in a good way. While stainless steel dominates, more Albariño producers are using oak, but in small proportions or larger or older containers. The bonus is that in general the handling was sensitive. Willard was pleased to note that few producers were attempting to make a Sauvignon Blanc-style wine.

See all 137 Albariño wines from the panel tasting

As for ageability, two-thirds of the wines were from the latest 2022 vintage. We felt that many were too young and would have benefited from another six months in bottle. Notably, the majority of our Outstanding wines were older or much older. What this tasting resoundingly proved is that in the right place, and carefully handled, Albariño ages beautifully. The model is Pazo Señorans’ Selección de Añada, grown on xabre, the local weathered granite. The wine is unoaked and aged on its lees in stainless steel for 30 months. It was a pioneering wine, but is now joined by others, notably the Añada de Baladiña, with its 10 years in bottle after lees ageing.

The final verdict? Continue to enjoy your Rías Baixas Albariño young. However do also seek out the very individual small producers, such as Xosé Lois Sebio, working in the region with old and very old vines. Above all, do explore the glorious mature wines.

The best Albariño is a keeper, and one of Spain’s great wines.

Albariño: Panel tasting scores

The judges

Sarah Jane Evans MW is a Decanter contributing editor and Co-Chair of the Decanter World Wine Awards. Her latest book The Wines of Central and Southern Spain (£35 Infinite Ideas) is set for release in early 2024.

Pierre Mansour is director of wine at The Wine Society, and has been buying The Society’s Spanish wines since 2008. He is a member of Spain’s Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino, and a DWWA joint Regional Chair for Spain.

Beth Willard is involved in sourcing wines for both the on- and off-trade in the UK, with a particular focus on Eastern Europe and Spain. Formerly buying manager at Direct Wines, she is a member of Spain’s Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino, and a DWWA joint Regional Chair for Spain.

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Like opening the windows to let in the cool ocean breeze: that has been the effect that new vineyards in Maldonado Bay – the point on the southern coast where the Rio de la Plata estuary meets the south Atlantic – have had on Uruguayan wine. The region now produces whites and reds from vines no more than 20 years old, all influenced by the fresh presence of the Atlantic.

Scroll down for Patricio Tapia’s pick of 18 Uruguayan wines to try

Not only have these newcomers started to overshadow the classic zones, but importantly they have also attracted increased attention to a country that until recently was hidden in the long shadows of Argentina and Chile. These two are the most important wine-producing countries in South America, both in quality and volume. Tiny Uruguay, with a little less than 6,000ha of vines (INAVI institute national data for 2022), has managed to shine.

From the department of Maldonado – from areas such as Pan de Azúcar and, further east, José Ignacio or Garzón – delicious whites emerge, especially perfumed Albariños, but also Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and even Riesling.

The reds show the fresh influence of the sea in their fruity and juicy flavours. Even the fierce Tannat, on the granite soils of Maldonado, seems much more docile and approachable than the prototype of robust Uruguayan Tannat to which we have become accustomed.

Establishing an identity

As well as the particular conditions of the terroir of this region, the influence of the actors involved here is also significant. Bodega Garzón has been a key player when it comes to showing these new wines to the world. But producers such as the Deicas family and Bouza have also contributed outstanding wines to this new stage in Uruguay.

Maldonado accounts for barely 7% of the total area of vineyards planted in Uruguay. Even so, the vines and the wines they produce work as the perfect gateway to discover the rest of what Uruguay has to offer.

Canelones, with 66% of the planted area in 2022, is the largest and most traditional area in the country. Here the clay and chalky soils offer much more austere and monolithic versions of Tannat – wines that perhaps lack the fruity explosion of their Maldonado counterparts, but which still develop in the bottle like few other reds in South America. For the best Canelones examples, go for reds from the Las Violetas area – the epitome of that fierce Uruguayan Tannat.

In addition, Canelones can offer Tannats with a price-to-quality ratio that matches the best in South America, as well as silky and succulent whites. In fact, the first Albariño in Uruguay was created by Bouza using grapes from Canelones and from neighbouring Montevideo – another source of delicious reds and whites. That was back in 2004, when Uruguay was hidden in a corner of South America. Today, its wines are gradually moving up to join the top ranks in the region.

See Patricio Tapia’s pick of 18 Uruguayan wines

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What is Vinho Verde? ‘Young, fresh and light,’ the marketing trumpeted but, these days, Vinho Verde’s Wine Commission is keen to broaden perceptions beyond the classic, slightly pétillant, non-vintage blends.

As are the Guedes’ family who, in addition to making the best-selling classic, Casal Garcia, now produce sophisticated single-parcel Vinho Verdes under their Aveleda brand. Today, there’s plenty more on offer than ever before…

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 20 top Vinho Verde wines

The classics remain ‘the backbone of the region’, says Dora Simões but, as the commission’s new president pithily points out, Vinho Verde ‘is a demarcated (DOC) wine region, not a wine’. Or, as a BBC presenter might say: other styles of Vinho Verde are available. As my selection reveals, they are many and diverse.

In fact there were two Vinho Verde gold medals in this year’s Decanter World Wine Awards – both from opposite ends of the price spectrum. Adega Cooperativa de Ponte de Lima’s Loureiro 2022 and Anselmo Mendes, Parcela Única 2020 – a follow-on vintage of one of my top 20 selections below).

The key styles

Single-vintage, still, dry styles have mushroomed, the best of which are concentrated, terroir-driven and age-worthy. After all, Vinho Verde is a large region, with nine sub-regions and a variety of micro-climates.

Lighter styles have diversified too, as new-wave Vinho Verde producers explore ‘glou glou’ (a term used to describe youthful, eminently quaffable wines which are impossible to put down) and low intervention whites, reds, rosés and pet-nats. Excellent espumante (traditional method sparkling wines) are also made.

Irrespective of varieties, terroir and winemaking philosophy, freshness is a given.

With much-improved viticulture (25% of my selection is certified organic or biodynamic), better fruit intensity means entry-level wines no longer require the traditional crutches of residual sugar (to balance acidity) and petillance (to counter the residual sugar’s softness).

That said, surfing the pet-nat wave, pétillant styles like Chin Chin from Quinta do Ermizio (only available in the UK) have become retro-chic. Some are even naturally pétillant, thanks to old-school malolactic fermentation in bottle (as opposed to carbon dioxide injection).

Regional variation

Departing from classic blends, many top single-varietal Vinho Verdes play to sub-regional strengths.

There’s more flesh on the bones in warmer, drier, inland sub-regions – notably Monção and Melgaço (the Alvarinho specialist) and Baião (where the Avesso grape is a rising star). Producers here use different techniques to bring complexity, mouthfeel and finesse to concentrated citrus and stone fruit.

Greater Atlantic influence (including higher rainfall) tends towards pretty, floral or zestier lime-driven styles in Lima, where the delicate Loureiro grape reigns supreme.

Other white varieties showing their mettle include Arinto and Azal, which lend themselves to leaner, meaner, mouth-watering styles. Vinhão (all assertive tannin and acidity) and Alvarelhão (softer, more beguiling) have become the focus of red wine ambition.

Looking ahead

Nowadays, ambition is not confined to the locals. Vinho Verde’s success has attracted prestigious outsiders, such as Douro-based leviathans Niepoort and Symington Family Estates Both have partnered with Anselmo Mendes. Having led Vinho Verde’s quality charge together with Soalheiro, Quinta do Ameal and Aphros, the winemaker is delighted about receiving recognition from big Portuguese players.

This and Vega Sicilia’s acquisition of a big Rías Baixas property over the border highlights Vinho Verde’s trump card. As Mendes explains: ‘For now, global warming’s impact is not felt in the region, or only in a positive way.’ That’s certainly true of 2022, an extremely hot, dry year across Portugal.

Vinho Verde: 20 top wines tasted and rated

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Chief executive Víctor Urrutia said the purchase would boost the company’s prospects of becoming Spain’s ‘most important winery’.

Bodegas La Val is based in Salvaterra de Miño, which is located in the Condado do Tea sub-region of the Rías Baixas Denominación de Origen.

The winery was founded in 1985, and it was the driving force behind the creation of the Rías Baixas DO three years later.

La Val is renowned for its pioneering work in promoting Albariño on a global basis, and it also grows two other native varieties: Loureiro and Treixadura.

The vineyards straddle the banks of the Miño river, which give the wines their unique characteristics. They include the 35ha Arantei Estate, the 13ha Taboexa vineyard and the 5ha Porto vineyard.

It has 90ha under vine in total, according to CVNE, and it only produces wines from its own grapes.

Exports account for 70% of sales at La Val, which was run by Fernando Bandeira and Antonio Ruiloba until this sale to CVNE.

The Rioja-based group – whose full name is Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España – already has operations in Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Valdeorras and D.O. Cava, so Rías Baixas was a natural expansion.

Its wineries include CVNE, Imperial, Viña Real and Viñedos del Contino in Rioja, Roger Goulart in Penedés, Bela in Ribera del Duero, and Virgen del Galir in Valdeorras. Each estate produces a different style of wine from distinct terroir.

Urrutia said: ‘CVNE is a national treasure and our objective is to be Spain’s most important winery. Buying La Val will help us consolidate this objective.’

CVNE is still run by the descendants of founders Eusebio and Raimundo Real de Asúa, who established the business in 1879.

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The rain in Spain falls mainly in Galicia. OK, that’s an exaggeration. There are other parts of the country that are wet – the coast of the Basque country, for instance – but when I visit, Spain’s Atlantic northwest corner always seems to be under a damp duvet of clouds.

Santiago de Compostela, the most famous city in the region, is one of the two wettest in Spain (according to Aemet data, 1981-2010), along with San Sebastián.

Following close behind are Pontevedra, A Coruña and Vigo, all of them in Galicia. The southern viticultural regions of Condado do Tea and O Rosal, located on the border with Portugal, are certainly warmer and drier, but we’re not talking La Mancha.

No wonder Galicians consider morriña (melancholy) to be part of their DNA.

Scroll down to see Tim Atkin’s 1o Rías Baixas wines to try

Climate change is affecting Galicia, of course – with the exception of the late-picked 2021 growing season, recent harvests have been hotter and (relatively speaking) drier – but this is still a cool, drizzly place to grow grapes.

Organic viticulture may be inadvisable because of the risk of vineyard diseases, but the prevailing conditions are well suited to the production of the fresh, tangy white wines that have made Galicia’s name over the last couple of decades, especially with Albariño in its best sub-region, the Val do Salnés.

Ancient history

Albariño – known as Alvarinho in nearby Portugal, where it is one of the mainstays of Vinho Verde – has been in Galicia for a very long time. It was definitely here when the Romans arrived and quite possibly before that, if recent archaeological finds in the city of Vigo are a reliable guide. Albariño, you see, has thick skin, which is useful in a wet region, and good levels of natural acidity that are the perfect foil for the local seafood.

It’s hard to think of another white grape that has enjoyed such success over the last two decades. Italian Pinot Grigio perhaps, but Albariño has greater cachet and higher prices, and is a superior variety. The curious thing is that Albariño was virtually unknown, even in its home from home, 50 years ago. ‘In the 1970s, the main grape was red Espadeiro,’ says Eulogio Pomares of Zárate. ‘In fact, 80% of the vineyards were red.’ Albariño was almost insignificant, with just 200ha under vine. Today, the grape accounts for a whopping 4,086ha.

What changed its fortunes? Once the Rías Baixas Denominación de Origen was created in 1988, Galicians began to realise the appeal of Albariño. It had always had its fans – the annual festival dedicated to the grape in the town of Cambados dates back to the early 1950s – but they were in a minority. Little by little, Albariño began to establish a reputation as a world-class variety: one with ageing potential, too. Pazo de Señorans, in particular, specialises in bottle-matured versions of the grape with its Selecciones de Añada, of which the current release is the 2013. Most Albariño is drunk young – it can legally be sold from the point in November when the DO control body validates the vintage, typically around the 20th – but the majority of those drinkers are missing out on one of its greatest assets.

Rías Baixas at a glance

DO Established 1988, the largest of Galicia’s five DOs. (The others are Monterrei, Ribeiro, Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras)

Region Part of so-called ‘green Spain’, located in the northwest corner of the country. A region of high rainfall, especially in the north, with rivers, estuaries and, of course, the Atlantic coast

Major cities A Coruña and Vigo; Santiago de Compostela, also famous as a pilgrimage destination

Planted area 4,329ha – divided between five very different sub-zones: Val do Salnés (the biggest), Condado do Tea, O Rosal, Soutomaior and Ribeira do Ulla

Soils Mostly granite with some clay, gravel, sand and schist

Wineries The region has 179 bodegas, 5,011 growers and a remarkable 22,832 individual plots, many of which are tiny

Annual production About 37.3m bottles

Grapes Mostly Albariño (94% of plantings). The remainder is made up of (whites) Caíño Blanco, Godello, Loureira Blanca, Torrontés and Treixadura; (reds) Brancellao, Caíño Tinto, Castañal, Loureira Tinta, Mencía, Pedral and Sousón

[Source: DO Rías Baixas, 2022]

What about the reds?

Albariño may be the star turn in these parts, with more than 94% of Rías Baixas’ 4,329ha, but the region has a supporting cast, too, some of which are only grown in this northwest corner of the Iberian peninsula: Caíño Blanco, Godello, Loureira, Treixadura and Torrontés. Standalone examples of these grapes are rare, but two of the region’s five sub regions – O Rosal and Condado de Tea – specialise in blends. Albariño generally partners well with other grapes, especially Loureira and Treixadura.

The region’s reds also deserve a mention. Often rare grapes such as Brancellao, Caíño Tinto, Castañal, Espadeiro, Mencía and Pedral account for only 1.2% of plantings, but for me, they are some of the most distinctive Spanish tintos: tangy, bright, elegant and thirst-quenching, with more presence and structure than you might imagine. If you love the wines of DOs Ribeira Sacra and Bierzo (the latter just over the border in the Castilla y León region), you’ll adore these.

No one seems in a rush to plant more red vineyards, partly because yields are about one third of those of Albariño, but climate change has made it much easier to produce good wines every year. ‘We’re picking two weeks earlier than we were 15 years ago,’ says Paco Arenas of Señorío de Rubios, one of 26 bodegas that make red wines. Apart from Señorío de Rubios, other red producers to look out for are Albamar, Attis, Zárate and especially Forjas del Salnés, where Rodri Méndez works with Bierzo superstar Raúl Pérez.

Know your vintages: Rías Baixas

2022 Unusually hot, dry vintage, with some welcome rains just before harvest, which added volume and freshness to the grapes. Potential quality outstanding.

2021 A very cool vintage, with low temperatures in the summer that barely touched 30°C. Alcohols lower than in recent vintages, with marked acidity in some wines. Quality mixed.

2020 The Covid vintage. Botrytis in some vineyards and reasonably warm. Ripe, full-flavoured wines with balancing acidity in the best

areas, especially the Val do Salnés.

2019 Dry vintage with above- average temperatures. Yields were lower than usual, producing wines that are generally ripe and concentrated.

2018 A cool, humid spring, late flowering. A late vintage of good rather than spectacular quality that was saved by August sunshine.

2017 Early flowering followed by a typical summer of moderate to warm temperatures. Overall crop comparatively large. Decent quality.

Shape shifter

I’m a huge fan of these reds, but there’s no denying the celebrity of Rías Baixas is tied to Albariño. Wine drinkers imagine that it’s reassuringly predictable, but it’s actually protean, capable of many different expressions. There are several important influences. One is soil type: as well as predominant granite, the region’s vineyards contain lesser percentages of sand and schist, among other things, which affect the structure of resulting wines. Water is a second crucial factor, and not just rainfall. How close they are to the Atlantic, or to one of the four estuaries (rías) after which the DO is named, tends to increase freshness and salinity in whites as well as reds. And then there are things such as sunshine hours, altitude (never very high, but there are variations), aspect and picking dates.

It’s possible to manipulate Albariño in the bodega, too. The style favoured by most winemakers is temperature-controlled stainless steel fermentation, usually with lees contact for texture. But open your eyes as you walk around a few cellars, and you can see a range of containers: foudres, concrete tanks, flexitanks, even granite eggs, patented by local producer Santiago Roma and hewn from the local bedrock. Also relevant is the use of malolactic fermentation – widely used to soften the sometimes tart 2021s – as well as pressing cycles on a grape with such thick skins.

Albariño’s only problem – and it’s a nice one – is that it’s almost too popular. Could it become a victim of its own success? Volumes have grown tenfold over the last 30 years. The worry is that demand will outstrip supply. No wonder the region’s 5,011 grape growers look so happy, as the majority of the 179 bodegas buy grapes from them. Prices are spiralling upwards, at least for now, and have risen steeply since 2019 to a high for some producers of €3.20 per kilogram in 2022. Is this sustainable? In the current economic climate, it’s a pressing question.

Eight Rías Baixas names to know

Albamar

Xurxo Alba makes an impressive range of reds and whites from his family’s 8ha in Cambados, as well as purchased grapes. The top wine is Sesenta

y Nove Arrobas, an ageworthy, unwooded, old-vine Albariño from five parcels, but the reds, especially the Espadeiro and Mencía are worth a detour. @albamarbodegas

Attis

Brothers Robustiano and Baldomero Fariña farm mussels as well as 13ha of vineyards in the Val do Salnés. The range is extensive and reliably good, including the best orange wine in the region, Sitta Doliola, as well as an extensive line-up of thirst-quenching varietal reds made from Brancellao, Caíño Tinto, Espadeiro and Pedral.

Forjas del Salnes

If anyone qualifies as a cult winemaker in Rías Baixas, then it’s arguably self-effacing Rodri Méndez, who has benefited from the advice of Bierzo’s superstar producer, Raúl Pérez, when it comes to his reds (Goliardo is a total bargain). The Leirana Areas de Arra Albariño, sourced from a single parcel on ‘beach sand’ is among Spain’s greatest whites. @bodegaforjasdelsalnes

Lagar de Costa

The brother and sister team of Manuel and Sonia Costa have taken this small family winery in Castrelo to new heights. Their 7ha are Atlantic-influenced – one of them is just 15 metres from the waves – and produce wines of stony, saline intensity. The pick of the range is the single-vineyard Calabobos, named after the persistent Galician drizzle.

Palacio de Fefiñanes

Located on the main square in Cambados, Fefiñanes was the first bodega to bottle a varietal Albariño back in 1928. Grapes are sourced almost exclusively from local growers and quality is high. The best-seller is Albariño de Fefiñanes, but Cristina Mantilla also makes a barrel-aged white (1583) and the salty, long-lived III Año.

Pazo de Señorans

Very much a winery with a female touch – Ana Quintela is the winemaker and Marisol Bueno the owner and the DO’s first president in 1988 – Pazo de Señorans is a textbook Albariño producer. The most interesting wine here is the Selección de Añada, from 4ha of old vines on slopes, which is generally released after a decade in bottle.

Santiago Roma

Less well known than he should be, Santiago Roma farms just 6ha in Ribadumia. Everything he makes is delicious, from his Colleita to his estate Albariño to his Selección. But the most exciting and unusual wine here is Pedranai, fermented and lees-aged in a specially designed granite egg. There are only 600 bottles, alas, but it’s stunning.

Zarate

Eulogio Pomares began making wine with his aunts and the chef de cave of Zárate’s distinguished late founder Ernesto Zárate. Pomares studied oenology

in Bordeaux, returning to Galicia for the 1999 harvest and taking full charge from 2000. With a profound knowledge of the history of Rías Baixas, he and his wife Rebecca make a brilliant range of whites and reds from 12 parcels covering 10ha. My favourites are two of their single-vineyard Albariños: Tras da Viña and the richer El Palomar.

Atkin’s Atlantic 10: a taste of Rías Baixas

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Sarah Jane Evans MW, Roger Jones and Dirceu Vianna Junior MW tasted 78 wines with 3 Outstanding and 33 Highly recommended.

Albariño beyond Iberia: panel tasting scores

78 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 3

Highly recommended 33

Recommended 41

Commended 1

Fair 0

Poor 0

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their Albariño wines – single varietal or blended with a minimum of 75% Albariño/Alvarinho – in any style, vintage or price level, from any region and country other than Spain and Portugal

Albariño is the star white variety of Galicia, and specifically of Rías Baixas. Other producers in Spain may make it, in Mediterranean and central regions, but nowhere does it do better than on the granite soils and in the maritime climate not far from the pilgrim city of Santiago de Compostela.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores from the Albariño beyond Iberia panel tasting

Pilgrims are important to Albariño’s story – just as they are with so many varieties. Possibly Albariño came from the pilgrims journeying north through Portugal. Or possibly it went back south with them. Whichever it was, I have – as an Albariño lover – to confess that northern Portugal’s Alvarinho, especially in the Monção e Melgaço region, is a delight. (In the comparative panel tasting in Decanter’s September 2021 issue, the Spanish and Portuguese versions came neck and neck.) What is clear is that the variety originated in the northwest Iberian peninsula.

It’s not in the least surprising that Albariño should have escaped from its Atlantic niche to become so popular internationally. It’s appealingly aromatic: floral with acacia, honeysuckle and jasmine. The palate reveals citrus, white peach and apple fruits. Drunk young, it’s the very essence of a summer wine – and perfect with shellfish.

Many producers in Rías Baixas are using lees ageing successfully to develop creamy, broader textures in the mouth. The best also age on the lees for two, three or more years. These wines develop a remarkable complexity, moving towards a Burgundian feel and proving that Albariño does not have to be drunk young. There are oak-aged Albariño, too, some with remarkable subtlety and success. There are also a few sparkling versions. Albariño can be blended with other varieties, but it is more than capable of standing alone.

Global interest

The wine world is in constant search for white varieties beyond Chardonnay, Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris. Italy is a successful hunting ground and, in recent times, Assyrtiko has been snapped up from Greek vineyards by growers in Australia and South Africa looking for its zippy freshness. Albariño was also an early popular choice. However, its first invasion in Australia was brought to a sudden halt when it was discovered that those early ‘Albariño’ plantings were actually the French Savagnin, an error caused by the original Spanish source and then repeated.

The enthusiasm for trialling Albariño began in the first decade of this century, so in many areas vineyards are now well established. Producers with Atlantic coasts, mirroring Rías Baixas, have been tempted by the variety: Uruguay and South Africa particularly. New Zealand has also invested in Albariño, given its maritime climate, and California joined the search for a ‘new’ aromatic white.

In Europe, Albariño has been planted in southern France, and is now on the new permitted list in Bordeaux. The thought there is that it’s a variety that retains its aromatics even in a changing climate. In the UK, climate change is making it a variety of interest to English wine producers, too. Further afield, there are sightings of Albariños in Japan and Mexico.

Many of these global plantings are too young yet to show their individual character. So for the moment, lovers of Albariño/Alvarinho will continue to measure international newcomers up against the Iberian original. But, in 10 or 20 years’ time, it’s likely we will be able to identify these different origins much more clearly. An exciting prospect.

Spain and Portugal have set a high bar for this on-trend aromatic white style, but good scores here show how the rest of the world is inspired to meet the varietal challenge.

How did the wines fare?

This was a fascinating tasting in which the object was to answer this question: is it possible to grow a grape variety so closely identified with the northwestern corner of Iberia and plant it elsewhere, to make wines that are typical, but also convincingly different?

Ours was a diplomatically balanced panel. Dirceu Vianna Junior MW, Brazilian by birth, was recruited to speak up for South America – notably Uruguay. Chef Roger Jones is a noted lover of and expert on South African, Australian and New Zealand wines. My role was to defend the image of Iberian Albariño against the growing global competition.

We had samples from nine countries, and – incredibly – no fewer than 34 from across the USA from east to west, via the Texas High Plains and including a pét-nat from Maryland. An excellent showing from across the pond.

Our three top wines were geographically very evenly distributed. Uruguay underlined its growing reputation for the variety, producing the highest-scoring wine of the day as well as four Highly Recommendeds. ‘Vivid and saline, showing Albariño at its very best,’ remarked Jones on these South American stars.

Only one of the 14 New Zealand entries came from Nelson, but the fact that it triumphed over the others indicates the importance of Nelson for aromatic varieties. Six others scored 90 points or more. That the South African Outstanding wine was from the Hemel-en-Aarde was not a surprise, given the similarities of the south Atlantic to Galicia. Jones commented that given Albariño’s evident liking for these cool, coastal regions, Australia’s island of Tasmania could well prove to be a reliable origin of the future.

See all 78 wines from the Albariño beyond Iberia panel tasting

Notably, two California wineries with Spanish expertise each earned a credible 91pts for their Albariños: the first from Marimar Torres (sister of Miguel A Torres), and the second from Artesa, an outpost of the Raventós Codorníu group.

There was a strong cluster of wines scoring 88 and 89pts – tasty, well-made whites but without a distinctive character. Would we know they were Albariño if we hadn’t been told? While Albariño can give lovely fruit, we were looking to reward the complexity

of the best. Undoubtedly, many wines submitted for this tasting were from young vines that have yet to develop their full character, so while they might not have scored so highly now, it bodes well for the future. ‘Many of these wines were not Albariño as I know it,’ said Jones. ‘In my view, of all the wines we tasted, South Africa was the closest to the fresh style of Rías Baixas.’

‘I was really excited about the idea of this tasting,’ said Vianna during our concluding discussion. While he felt it hadn’t quite lived up to his expectations, he was positive about the direction of progress. ‘Albariño is going to be a trend internationally. In 10 years’ time we will be back to repeat this tasting and we will see real improvement.’

Albariño: Where in the world?

Of the 78 wines in this tasting, there were three sparkling and one pét-nat; only two overall were not 100% Albariño.

USA 34

New Zealand 14

Uruguay 12

Australia 6

South Africa 6

France 4

Canada 1

England 1

Albariño beyond Iberia panel tasting scores

The judges

Sarah Jane Evans MW is an awarded journalist, author and broadcaster, a DWWA Co-Chair, and the chair of Spain’s Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino. Her new book The Wines of Central and Southern Spain is set for release in early 2024.

Roger Jones is the retired former owner of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn restaurant in Wiltshire. He is now a wine writer, judge and consultant with a particular interest in the hospitality trade, as well as helping charities. He is a DWWA judge, with a focus on New World regions.

Dirceu Vianna Junior MW is a wine writer, consultant and educator. Moving to the UK from Brazil in 1989, he was a director at some of the UK’s top distributors, becoming a Master of Wine in 2008, then co-authoring the awarded Portuguese- language book Conheça Vinhos (‘Understanding Wine’, Editora Senac).

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Our story dates back more than a century, with the arrival of oidium (powdery mildew) and the phylloxera bug. When growers replanted, most avoided the susceptible and the awkward, and went for the more profitable, higher-yielding choices. It became a matter of the survival of the fittest. In the years that followed, particular clones came to dominate, removing many of the quirks and introducing a more consistent style. Rioja was a case in point. To be fair, consistency has its place, especially among large-volume wines. But wine drinkers thrive on diversity too.

Worldwide, growers took similar decisions. Pre-phylloxera (Pre-P), for example, in Sherry country there were any number of varieties, which were narrowed down to Palomino Fino, Moscatel and Pedro Ximénez post-phylloxera. Dedicated producers have campaigned to bring what remains of the Pre-P varieties back into the limelight. Be prepared to hear more about Mantúo Castellano, Mantúo de Pilas, Vijariego, Perruno, Cañocazo and Beba.

Regional strength

Spain can be proud of its best Cabernet Sauvignons, Merlots and Chardonnays. But what it can also offer the world is a range of historic varieties with a sense of place. They restore originality to our drinking choices. Yet identifying, recuperating and testing-out forgotten varieties takes commitment. Where to look? In the few sites where phylloxera never penetrated, of course. Beyond that, Catalonia, where Miguel Torres and his daughter Mireia have years of experience in their long-running Ancestral Varieties project, which seeks to resurrect old and forgotten grapes. Some of their ‘new/old’ discoveries now appear in blends, such as Querol in Grans Muralles. Recent releases as single varieties are the white Forcada and the red Pirene.

Galicia is a great hunting ground, in part for its geographical isolation, in part because of the sheer difficulty of farming in places such as Ribeira Sacra. Valencia offers the variety-hunter plenty, though many of its grapes disappear into blends: take Javier Revert’s Trepadell, Tortosí, Merseguera, Verdil and Arcos, for example. My selection reflects my love of Spain’s alternative reds: fresh, sometimes crunchy, occasionally rustic (in a good way), lower in alcohol and with little or no oak. The whites are also impressive, showing the potential of this remarkably diverse country.

• Source for vineyard planting figures to follow: Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, to 31 July 2021

Albillo Mayor

Plantings: Castilla y León 755ha, Extremadura 28ha, Asturias 6ha, La Rioja 4ha

In 2019, Albillo Mayor burst its chains and came out into the open, recognised as the white variety in that reddest of red wine denominations, Ribera del Duero. It’s not new, but had historically been used for claretes, the local rosado wines. White Ribera is still a small category; so far, about 30 producers out of more than 300 have launched whites. Formerly they had to appear under the Vino de la Tierra de Castilla category. The name Albillo appears in many guises and is used interchangeably across Galicia and Castilla y León. In particular, the variety most often confused with Albillo Mayor is Albillo Real, commonly found around Madrid, and in DO Cebreros.

The fascinating discovery associated with Albillo Mayor is that it is a parent of none other than the ubiquitous Tempranillo. Like Tempranillo, it is relatively low in acidity. It produces compact bunches of thin-skinned grapes. The wines are not aromatic but do have a breadth and complexity that suggests the best will age well. The first releases have been really promising, notably Dominio del Aguila, Dominio del Pidio, Valduero Reserva and Valduero Gran Reserva.

Dominio del Aguila, Viñas Viejas Albillo, Castilla y León 2018

Blanco Lexítimo

Asturias 40ha, Galicia 22ha, Castilla y León 21ha

Who could fail to love a grape variety that proclaims itself ‘the legitimate white’, as if all other white grape varieties are irrelevant? I loved the name, but was completely unaware of its existence until I encountered it in May this year at a tasting in Betanzos, the former capital of Galicia. From a small sample of a dozen producers, it was clear that the variety has a future, and that it is made for our changing palates; its freshness is perfect for hotter summers. There was also a sparkling version which, given the acidity of the base wine, seemed promising; and there was obvious potential for lees ageing to make a richer style.

Consultant Dominique Roujou de Boubée of Terroir en Botella works with the variety at Ponte da Boga. ‘It’s not difficult to grow, but it is low-yielding,’ he says. ‘The small berries don’t give much juice but it’s very good quality. It lends itself to skin contact because it’s very rich in terpenes and because of its acidity.’ It is the same variety as Albarín Blanco of Asturias. Roujou de Boubée suggests that it may be a descendant of Savagnin and Traminer, and that it was spread along the pilgrim routes. That would account for its presence in Asturias and also in Tierra de León, Betanzos, Lugo, Barbanza e Iría, Ribeira Sacra…

Ponte da Boga, Blanco Lexítimo, Ribeira Sacra, Galicia 2021

Malvasía Volcánica

Canary Islands 926ha

The trail of Malvasía will lead you on an exotic and confusing dance through Spain’s vineyards, taking in Rioja, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Castilla y León – and significantly the Canary Islands. Exotic, for the history and character of the grape; confusing, for the fact that it originated in Greece but has transformed over the centuries. In the Canaries, Malvasía Aromática is the speciality of La Palma, the site of recent volcanic eruptions. On the famous black soils of Lanzarote, Malvasía Volcánica dominates. It’s a cross between Malvasía Aromática and the local Marmajuelo.

Volcánica is the second most-planted white on the islands after Listán Blanco. Typically, it’s less aromatic than its parent and very well adapted to dry climates. It was familiar to tourists who buy the local wines, but was not widely known elsewhere. That’s until the recent opening of a winery in Gran Canaria, the Canaries’ third largest island – a spot better known for its beaches than its fine wines. What caught press attention was local man and legendary footballer David Silva’s investment. What caught the wine world’s interest was the fact that his winemaker was Jonatán García from Suertes del Marqués in Tenerife. García – along with Envínate – put Tenerife on the fine wine map.

Tamerán, Malvasía Volcánica, Gran Canaria 2020

Maturana Blanca

Rioja 43ha, Basque country 2ha, Navarra 1ha

Rioja is still a predominantly red region: white grapes account for less than 10% of the vineyard. Yet the interest in Rioja’s whites and their quality is growing. Viura takes the lead in white Rioja plantings, accounting for two-thirds. Maturana Blanca, on the other hand, makes up just 0.66% of white varieties grown, and only 0.06% of the total vineyard. Yet it’s actually the earliest recorded variety in Rioja (1622), when it was called Ribadavia.

Why is there interest in recuperating it now? Rodolfo Bastida at Ramón Bilbao currently has 2.5ha planted in the far west in Cuzcurrita. He says it’s early budding, hardy and adapts to different climate and soils; it is also drought resistant, with a low pH and high total acidity. On the downside, the compact clusters are susceptible to rot, the yield is only average and it’s sensitive to exposure to the sun. Bastida highlights its fresh citric and tropical aromas, and keynote acidity. Currently there are few single- varietal examples in Rioja. The most well known of them is Ad Libitum from viticulture pioneer Juan Carlos Sancha. Viña Ijalba and Bilbaínas both have one, and Alonso & Pedrajo make a version macerated on skins. Nivarius, specialists in white Rioja, use the variety both by itself – in Finca La Nevera – and in blends.

Ramón Bilbao, Límite Norte Reserva, Rioja 2018

Palomino Fino

Andalucía 2,899ha

In this line-up of varieties to discover in Spain, Palomino Fino is the sleeping giant. This is the grape behind the millions of litres of Sherry that the Marco de Jerez area produced in its heyday, yet it was rarely acknowledged with seriousness. It’s only now, with the interest in terroir, that we are talking positively about Palomino Fino. It had the lowest of reputations: as wine students, generations of us were taught that it was so low in aroma, flavour and alcohol that it needed the solera system to give it character. All change, thankfully. This has been driven by producers exploring Palomino Fino’s potential as a still wine, notably Ramiro Ibáñez and Willy Pérez, and the Equipo Navazos team. There’s a suggestion that the Listán Blanco of the Canary Islands is the same variety.

Jonatan García of Suertes del Marqués in Tenerife agrees, adding: ‘They are also starting to use the name Listán Blanco in Jerez again. It had fallen out of use but people like Ramiro Ibáñez and Willy Pérez are bringing it back into plain sight. Obviously, over the centuries in different soils and climates, the variety has mutated, so they are not identical. In fact, on Tenerife alone we have 10 different clones.’

Muchada-Léclapart, Lumière, Marco de Jerez 2019

Brancellao

Galicia 46ha

With a Galician red, you can be certain of one thing: it will deliver freshness. It may not always be bold in colour, but the wine will certainly make itself felt. Looking at the statistics, the hectares of Brancellao vineyards don’t even reach three figures, and under the name Alvarelhão in Portugal it has been declining, too. That is a pity. Its cherry fruit, brisk freshness and mineral notes are very appealing.

Fernando González, working with his son Fabio at the family winery in Ribeira Sacra, is an enthusiast. ‘It makes wines that are different, individual, and very long-lived. They develop brilliantly over time.’ He admits that it can be an awkward plant, with its small bunches, many branches, a long cycle and late harvest date. ‘In contrast, our other ancestral variety, Merenzao, is much easier. With Brancellao, choosing the right moment to harvest is crucial. You have to get the perfect balance between texture, acidity and maturity to avoid excessive rusticity. That’s why we don’t use stems in fermentation as they would bring a green character.’

To explore the red grape varieties of Galicia, there are few better places to start than Adega Algueira; González also works with varieties such as Mencía, Caíño, Sousón and Merenzao.

Algueira, Serradelo, Ribeira Sacra, Galicia 2016

Prieto Picudo

Castilla y León 2,825ha, Castilla-La Mancha 5ha, Andalucía 2ha

To be perfectly frank, I first met Prieto Picudo (PP) about 15 years ago in Tierra de León, its home territory, and have been waiting for it to make a mark ever since. Surely its time will come soon? It’s a vine with thin-skinned berries in small bunches, that does not like drought or sun. What it delivers is deep colour, crunchy freshness, alcohol and firm tannin, with plenty of aromas and dark fruit flavours.

All those years ago, people were talking about its potential for rosado. The fact that it could make a full-flavoured, well-coloured, structured, characterful pink wine meant that it was going to be the Next Big Thing. Since then, the fashion has changed to Provence-style rosés, so the time to make its mark has come and gone, at least until the trend changes again. In the right hands, PP has the potential to produce characterful fresh reds, often with an enjoyably rustic edge. There is also some very old vine material.

This is a wine to enjoy with roast lamb and hard cheeses. For a thoughtful approach to the variety, it’s worth tracking down the in-demand wine of Raúl Pérez; also seek out Prieto Picudo if you are holidaying in the region.

Dominio Dostares, Estay, Castilla y León 2018

Sousón

Galicia 364ha

Galicia in Spain’s Atlantic northwest is a terrific source of wines for lovers of lesser-known grape varieties – in particular, of reds in a region where whites (the Godellos, the Treixaduras and the Albariños) dominate. Tucked away in the top left-hand corner of Spain, these red varieties have been able to develop in splendid isolation. Vines are no respecters of political boundaries, and so it is that Spain’s Sousón is also Portugal’s Vinhão and the Sousão of the Douro.

Spain’s Sousón is typically found in the DOs of Ribeiro, Rías Baixas and Valdeorras, where it has small clusters of small berries. It’s low in vigour, which explains its lack of popularity with growers. What it does have is plenty of colour in its skins, making for blue-black wines, and aromas of dark berry fruits. It can also produce high levels of alcohol and fresh acidity. All of this is perfect for Port, but is a useful addition to Galician red blends, too. There are fewer single-variety Sousóns to be found, and each of them is small-production. The pioneering José Luis Mateo in Galicia’s smallest DO of Monterrei has a fine example at Quinta da Muradella. Also try the fresh, dark-fruited Sousón from Cume do Avia in Ribeiro (2019, £30 Wanderlust Wine).

Coto de Gomariz, The Flower and the Bee Tinto, Ribeiro, Galicia 2020

Sumoll

Catalonia 200ha

Pronounced ‘sumoy’, Sumoll is made for those of us who favour fruity, crunchy, brightly rustic reds. It makes an ideal match for a selection of cured meats and has appealing floral and wild herb aromas. Today its home is Catalonia, specifically the DOs of Alella, Penedès, Pla de Bages and Tarragona. It is also found in the Canary Islands, as Vijariego Negro. Sumoll has a long history (with records dating back to the late 18th century), and is another of the varieties that was not popular with wine-growers in the replanting after phylloxera. According to Jordi Arnan of Celler Pardas in Penedès, ‘it’s the most masochistic grape there is’. Despite this, Arnan and his partner continue to dedicate themselves to this very late-ripening, fertile variety, and make a juicy, deep-coloured, structured rosado, in addition to 100% Sumoll reds such as Sus Scrofa (2020, £18-£18.95, Bottle Apostle, Highbury Vintners).

Sumoll is most widely found in blends; Heretat Mont Rubi (HMR) was the first to launch single- variety wines (available from Jeroboams in the UK). HMR’s speciality is a delightfully rich sweet wine with more than 200g/L of residual sugar. Expect to find Sumoll plantings increasing: its drought resistance makes it useful as the climate warms.

Can Sumoi, Ancestral Sumoll, Penedès 2018

Trepat

Catalonia* 1,297ha, Valencia† 102ha, Murcia 3ha

Regular drinkers of Cava rosado will be familiar with Trepat. It makes deep-coloured pink wines that are frequently a little simple. The first time I stood in a Trepat vineyard was with Ricard Rofes, and I was puzzled. I really like his wines at Scala Dei in Priorat and have learned so much from him as a winemaker, but I could not understand his enthusiasm for this unpromising-looking vineyard. Fast-forward almost 10 years, and I get the point.

Rofes has resoundingly transformed the image of Trepat, making an unusual, elegant red. In doing so, he has learned a few things. ‘It’s a variety that doesn’t produce sugars easily, so even in late October we are harvesting at 13 degrees [potential alcohol].

‘The good thing is that it’s resistant to botrytis, and it makes elegant wines because it’s not tannic. That’s why we add stems to give a bit more structure to the wine. It’s also low in colour, and fragrant. The result is a delicate wine, which we have to put into large-format oak so as not to drown it: 600 or 700 litres, or even 4,000-litre foudres.’ No wonder he is enthusiastic: ‘The more you work with Trepat, the more you enjoy it.’

*Particularly Costers del Segre and Conca de Barberà

†Known as Bonicaire in Valencia, where it is often found in blends

Abadía de Poblet, La Font Voltada, Conca de Barberà, Catalonia 2017

Sarah Jane Evans MW’s 10 wines to discover

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Vega Sicilia’s announcement of its project in Galicia brings an end to months of industry speculation over where exactly the company would make its first Spanish white wines.

Spanish daily newspapers El País and Cinco Días revealed news of the construction of a new winery and the acquisition of 24 hectares of vineyards by Vega Sicilia, owned by the Álvarez family.

Vega Sicilia confirmed that production would initially consist of two white wines: Deiva, a white Crianza (aged 2 years); and Arnela, a premium wine (aged for 3 years).

Both wines are expected to be released in 2025.

The producer said that its aim was to make 300,000 bottles of white wines annually, primarily focused on the white grape variety Albariño.

Vega Sicilia told El País that it had acquired 24 hectares of vineyards in several areas of the Rías Baixas, including Condado de Tea, surrounding the Miño river and in Crecente, near the border with Portugal, where the company will build the new winery named Deiva.

It said the Albariño grape variety could produce high-end Spanish white wines.

The decision to invest in the green, Atlantic reaches of Spain is unsurprising considering the climatic challenges, including drought, faced by Spanish producers in areas further south of the country.

Based in Spain’s Ribera del Duero, Vega Sicilia also makes wine in the Spanish regions of Rioja, Toro, and in Hungary.

Business newspaper Cinco Días said on 7 February that Vega Sicilia made profits of €30m (£25.3m) in 2021, from a turnover of €60m.

Vega Sicilia declined to comment further on the announcement.

Originally founded in 1864, Vega Sicilia was acquired by the Álvarez family in 1982, and the family is planning to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the purchase this year. 

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Made in Rías Baixas in northern Spain’s Galicia, Albariño is a crisp white wine with signature freshness. Boasting vibrant acidity and salty Atlantic notes, it’s a great match for seafood. Albariño is usually drunk young, but a recent tasting of older expressions set out to prove that actually this is a grape that can be aged successfully.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for seven aged Abariño wines worth seeking out

From a total of just over 4,000ha of vineyards in DO Rías Baixas, 96% is planted to Albariño, with 5,131 growers working in the region. Characterised by its granite soils, it’s a region of small vineyard plots boasting about 20,000 individual sites.

The importance of selecting particular plots to produce ageworthy wines emerged as a theme during the tasting, as seven Rías Baixas producers joined us via Zoom. They showcased bottles from 2019 all the way back to 2010. Old vines were also seen as key to ageability, producing fewer grapes but with more intensity of flavour.

Vintage variation

Vintage quality also plays a role. Diego Ríos Muñoz, winemaker at Agro de Bazán, explains: ‘Though our main production is focused on fresh, young Albarinos, the winery had always had reference wines that stay longer in the cellar, and they go later on the market. We don’t do it every year – just in those vintages where we are very happy with the quality.’

He looks for ‘really healthy grapes’, with no botrytis and the perfect balance of alcohol and acidity. But he adds: ‘It’s a very long process. It’s not just the moment of the harvest. It’s also the evolution afterwards in the cellar.’

Just 10,000 bottles of his Gran Bazán Don Alvaro de Bazán 2018 were produced. It spent two years on lees and one in bottle in the cellar before release. As Ríos Muñoz noted, this extra time allows notes of ‘ripe fruit, papaya, white chocolate, even a little bit of tobacco’ to develop, producing ‘a completely different aspect of the variety’.

He added: ‘These aged Albariños are so beautiful because they can compete internationally with varieties like Chenin Blanc or Riesling.’

Lees ageing

Extended time on full or fine lees was a signature of many other bottles in the tasting. This lees ageing adds body and texture to the wines, giving a creaminess that helps to balance the natural acidity of the Albariño grape.

Katia Alvarez, winemaker at Martín Códax, began producing a lees-aged Albariño – Martín Códax Lías – in 2005. After a cool pressing ‘to maintain all the concentration that we have in the grapes’, she starts to work with the lees after fermentation. ‘We increase the quantity of the lees that the wine has, based on lees that we have in the winery. We select lees which are going to concentrate on bringing the nose [aromas].’

After two months of battonage with the additional lees, the wine spends a further 10 months in stainless steel tanks on fine lees. ‘I’m looking for the integration between the flavours that come from the lees and also the flavours from the varietal,’ explains Alvarez.

She explains that for her the Martín Códax Lías 2018 typifies Rías Baixas. ‘We have the creamy notes from the lees, but also an obvious saltiness… some minerality, some spiciness. For me what makes the wine different is the mouthfeel. It’s an example of the potential that Albariño has,’ she added.

Oak influence?

While most of the winemakers ferment and age Albariño in stainless steel, Juan Posada of Viñas e Adegas Galegas ferments in oak. His Adegas Galegas Veigadares 2017 has a backbone of Albariño – sourced from three separate plots in the sub-regions of Salnes Valley, Condado do Tea and O Rosal.

However Posada also includes other native Spanish grapes in the blend: Loureira, Treixadura and Caiño Blanco. Each variety (including the Albariño) is fermented separately in 2,500-litre French oak foudres. ‘We play with different oaks,’ explains Posada, who is looking for increased complexity and ageing potential.

His 2017 wine had some lovely evolved savoury aromas and flavours, all cut through with vibrant acidity. However it was the final wine of the tasting, a library vintage of Pazo de Señoráns Selección de Añada 2010, that really stood out in terms of complexity.

Better with time

‘We’ve always believed in the ageing potential of the Albariño grape,’says Pazo de Señoráns winemaker Vicky Mareque. ‘So in 1995 we made the first vintage of this wine from a single plot, which is called Los Bancales. It’s one of our oldest vineyards, with some vines up to 100 years, but the average age is 55 years.’

Spending up to 38 months on its lees in stainless steel, with further time ageing in tank, then in bottle before release, this is a wine that exemplifies the complexity of aged Albariño. The 2010 vintage was bottled three years ago.

‘The 2010 is quite full-bodied but it’s still quite fresh,’ says Mareque. ‘They acidity is nice, it’s pretty mineral, but we start to see the tertiary aromas and flavours.’

As Sarah Jane Evans MW, DWWA Co-Chair and author of The Wines of Northern Spain, noted in a recent panel tasting of Albariño versus Alvarinho (the Portuguese name for the grape): ‘The best Albariños age beautifully – it is well worth seeking them out.’ Fellow taster Sarah Ahmed agreed: ‘I have tasted Alvarinhos that have been 10 to 20 years old, and they have aged really well.’

While young Albariños should be drunk within four years of release, examples that are made for ageing, such as the wines below, will happily mature in bottle for five to 10 years in your home cellar. Fans of aged white styles certainly shouldn’t ignore Albariño…

Aged Abariño: seven to try

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Origins of Albariño – Ask Decanter

Tannat is undeniably the champion of Uruguay. Its hardy character and unbreakable personality performs well vintage after vintage and, as a result, Tannat is Uruguay’s most planted variety – accounting for more than one in four vines. But Tannat is not the only card up this small nation’s sleeve.

Uruguay is actually home to a host of different varieties, spanning the vinous alphabet from Arneis to Zinfandel. And the huge range of wines to be found in Uruguay are all part of its heritage, while also being key to its innovative present and future.

Scroll down for scores and tasting notes for the top 20 Uruguay wines beyond Tannat

Vines came to Uruguay, like the rest of the New World, in the hands of European immigrants, with the greatest influx occurring from the 1850s onwards. ‘We are all children of immigrants – from Italy, Spain and France, and each of them brought over vines on the boat,’ explains fifth- generation vigneron Gabriel Pisano, who makes Sangiovese at Viña Progreso as an ode to his Italian forefathers. ‘We also never had any regulations controlling what you plant.’

Although there was a rather large, government- driven vine pull in the 1990s that encouraged producers to pull out their hybrids and focus on Tannat, families maintained their identity through other heritage varieties. ‘My family were all from Piedmont, like many of the Italians in Uruguay, and actually Barbera, Nebbiolo and Moscato arrived before Tannat,’ explains winemaker Pablo Fallabrino, who also produces Arneis, with Fresa and Cortese coming soon.

Uruguay: The facts

Area planted (total): 5,991ha

Vineyards: 1,213

Wineries: >160

Annual production: <1.33 million bottles

Top 10 varieties: Tannat (1,610ha); Moscatel de Hamburgo (1,107ha); Merlot (651ha); Ugni Blanc (629ha); Cabernet Sauvignon (363ha); Cabernet Franc (237ha); Marselan (184ha); Sauvignon Blanc (127ha); Chardonnay (108ha); Albariño (69ha)

Source: INAVI, 2018

The advance of Albariño

Italian varieties are scattered throughout the wine regions of Canelones, in particular – the heartland of Uruguayan wine, where two-thirds of the industry lies. But it is actually a Spanish migrant variety that is making the biggest waves in Uruguay today. The Bouza family decided to honour their Galician roots when they planted Albariño in 2002 in Canelones, after importing cuttings from their relatives in Rías Baixas.

It was a sentimental decision, but actually the variety thrived in Uruguay’s humid Atlantic climate, which is not unlike Galicia’s, where more than 1,000mm of rainfall a year is common. Today, Albariño is Uruguay’s 10th most planted variety, and is now expanding to the east coast.

‘Albariño has adapted really well in Uruguay,’ explains Germán Bruzzone, winemaker at Bodega Garzón, which has 40ha of Albariño. ‘From Canelones, with the wines of Bouza of course, but also here in Maldonado, where it really suits our granite soils. These soils give us a great acidity and freshness, with good volume in the mouth and a mineral finish.’

Although Albariño is quickly rising through the ranks of varieties to watch, the most planted white grape in Uruguay is actually Moscatel de Hamburgo. Although the variety is largely used for cheaper rosé wines, Fabiana Bracco is keen to kickstart a revolution with her fresh and pithy coastal Moscato: ‘I didn’t want to lose our tradition or the identity that my family built over generations,’ she says of her decision to make fine wine at Bracco Bosca with the family’s old vines.

‘The decision really came from the heart, but I also reasoned that if it had thrived here it must be for a reason! Today, the wine is one of our stars.’ There’s certainly some excitement in Uruguay about the potential of coastal whites, which include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Roussanne, Viognier and Torrontés, among others – giving winemakers plenty of tools to draw from. I’m personally excited about the potential of white blends that can nicely reflect the balanced character and subtle, layered aromas Uruguay’s white varieties often proffer.

Single-varietal reds

Carla Bertellotti, a Uruguayan in London who founded prominent Uruguayan wine importer Vinos Latinos, is also excited: ‘Uruguay should explore further the potential in white wines, both as single varietals and blends. There are great things coming out now, and I reckon we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg.’

In Uruguay’s world of red wines, blends have always been at the forefront. ‘In our culture, we are used to saving wines and cellaring them – for which blends have certain advantages,’ explains third-generation vigneron Santiago Deicas. ‘In our family, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot have always been important to us: they make up – blended with Tannat – our top family wine.’

It is common to taste Tannat blends that reflect the character and heritage of each winemaking family: whether it is the Zinfandel-Tannat blend pioneered by Artesana (co-owned by a Californian), or the Petit Manseng-Tannat blend from the Carrau family (of Catalan heritage) in Rivera. Blends were historically a way of softening the sometimes spiky edges of red wines in this humid climate, but with significant viticultural advancements in the past couple of decades, single-varietal red wines are also making their mark on the wine scene.

Pinot Noir is a favourite among Uruguayan wineries, with Bodega Oceánica José Ignacio, Bouza, Garzón, Marichal, Pizzorno and Viña Progreso all making notable examples. But no one exports quite as much Pinot Noir as the Pisano family. ‘It’s our second most exported variety after Tannat!’ exclaims Daniel Pisano, one of the three brothers in charge. ‘We actually sell just as much Pinot Noir in France as we do Tannat… I joke that we’re selling ice to the eskimos!’

There’s clearly a demand for these varieties, and a notable French leaning in many of the country’s top red wines, with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon being the third and fifth most planted varieties respectively.

But it is actually Cabernet Franc that excites me most. Some interesting expressions of Cabernet Franc are now coming from a range of the 99 soil types to be found in Uruguay: from the bony, floral wines of the schist soils of San José to the richer, fruit-driven wines from the calcareous clay of Canelones.

The other area of excitement in Uruguayan reds is with Petit Verdot and Marselan. Both have thicker skins that make them more tolerant of the humid climate. And both make wines of great acidity, freshness and character – with Marselan offering a more supple, food-friendly wine and Petit Verdot acting as a spicier but less austere counterpart to Tannat.

Innovation and diversity

Experimentation with other varieties doesn’t end there. There’s a growing movement of sparkling wines in Uruguay, from the complex and classy traditional-method bubblies of Viña Edén, to the wild pét-nat wines of Pablo Fallabrino (who has also released the country’s first CBD-infused wines, celebrating the legal status of marijuana in Uruguay). Winemakers are dabbling in orange wines too, as well as ageing white wines in amphorae and concrete eggs.

Innovation is bubbling over in Uruguay. ‘In the future we’ll definitely see more diversity, not only in varieties but also in winemaking,’ adds Garzón’s Bruzzone. ‘There are many exciting wine projects here that are spearheaded by the younger generation. They are exploring making wine in very different ways – with some surprising results.’

Although there’s plenty of reason to get excited about Uruguay’s wines beyond Tannat, that’s not to say that Tannat is by any means on its way out. Uruguayan Tannat continues to journey across Uruguay’s wine regions as well as styles – from carbonic-maceration Tannat pioneered by the Pizzorno family, to the many great dessert wines available today, and even sparkling Tannat. ‘Tannat expresses terroir like no other variety, so in Uruguay you find as many Tannat styles as terroirs exist,’ adds Daniel Pisano.

As Uruguay’s most-grown variety, Tannat offers an unparalleled opportunity to travel Uruguay’s wine regions from your glass. But, while you swirl your way around Uruguay, it’s well worth taking several pit stops on your journey to discover the diversity of varieties on offer. Small Uruguay may be, but you can’t ever say it is predictable or boring.

Amanda Barnes’ top 20 Uruguay wines beyond Tannat

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Albariño is no longer an Iberian secret. Producers, wine experts and consumers alike are now aware of the fresh, textural, high-quality wines it can produce, and results from Decanter’s wine competition, the world’s largest, serve to bolster the acclaim.

In a record year for wines tasted, just 50 wines were awarded a Best in Show medal this year – two of these went to outstanding Albariño/Alvarinho wines from the grape’s home nations Spain and Portugal. But very good examples can be found elsewhere too, as Decanter World Wine Awards 2021 results demonstrate, in locations as unexpected as Moldova, Uruguay, New Zealand and Ukraine.

From lively and fresh to fuller-bodied, aromatic and ageworthy examples, Albariño is expressive of terroir and lends itself well to different winemaking techniques, from skin contact and lees ageing to time spent in oak.

One of the DWWA 2021 competition’s champion grape varieties, it has earned critical acclaim from some of the world’s leading wine experts.

Here you’ll find a selection of top-scoring Albariño wines to try, with almost 140 more to be discovered on the Decanter World Wine Awards’ results site here.

Top-scoring Albariño wines from the Decanter World Wine Awards

The Best in Show

Aguiuncho, Mar de Ons, Rías Baixas, Galicia 2020

97 Value Best in Show

£14.50 Exel

This wine is the first of no fewer than six Value wines that made it into this year’s DWWA top 50 selection, having impressed at the four different stages of scrutiny for its fragrance and vivacity, its lightness and elegance, its pungency and pithiness. Albariño’s home is around the northwestern tip of Iberia, though the Portuguese Minho versions are subtly different to those of Galicia (see panel tasting, September 2021 issue). In its exuberance, charm and evident seafood-friendliness, this is a perfect example of the latter. Look out for scents of green apple, quince and grapefruit, while the flavours suggest not just citrus fruits but their peels and skins too. It retains all that aromatic force to the last drop, and leaves the mouth still cleaner than it found it. Alcohol 13%

Soalheiro, Primeiras Vinhas, Monção e Melgaço, Vinho Verde, Portugal 2019

97 Best in Show

£23.95-£26 Drinkmonger, Honest Grapes, NY Wines, The Good Wine Shop, The Wright Wine Co

The hallmark of a great grape variety resembles that of a great actor: the ability to subsume its own personality inside that of the place/character it is representing or portraying. Compare this (our first ever Best in Show Vinho Verde) with its Galician peer (left) and you’ll see a clear difference. This wine is much quieter aromatically, though haunting and tenacious, with hints of linden blossom and wet stone. It’s cool, sheer, tongue-freshening… yet tenacious once again, with the presence and force of character which typifies its Monção e Melgaço origins. That impression of a cool, wet granite landscape somehow conveyed by the wine lingers right through the long finish. Alc 13%

Spain

Paco & Lola, Vintage, Rías Baixas, Galicia 2015

97 Platinum

£23.28 Vinissimus

Lovely mineral and lemony nose, very lively and bright, with hints of stone fruits and salty sea air. Palate is long, fresh and bright, even though six years old. A really elegant and complex example that could age further ,it’s spot-on. Alc 13%

Lagar de Cervera, Pazo de Seoane, Rosal, Rías Baixas, Galicia 2020

96 Gold

£15.95-£17.95 Armit, NY Wines, Waud Wines

Resplendent honeydew melon, grapefruit, lemon peel and floral nose. Palate has refreshing acidity, a slightly waxy texture and notes of green apple and lime. Long, slightly saline finish. Superb. Alc 12.5%

Altos de Torona, Rosal, Rías Baixas, Galicia 2020

95 Gold

N/A UK altosdetorona.com

Scented as with Bourbon vanilla. Crisp, weighty and long, with green apple, citrus and blanched nuts. Fantastic: serious wine for the money, with lively acidity and a long, floral finish. Alc 12.5%

Martín Códax, Lías, Rías Baixas 2018

95 Gold

£18.35-£22.50 Carruthers & Kent, Exel, Fine Wine Co, Harrogate Wines, Nicholson’s Wines

Camomile, dried thyme, herbal and sea spray nose. A rich, complex and layered wine with excellent poise, notes of stone fruits, and a long, fennel finish. Alc 13%

Notas Frutales de Albariño, La Trucha Barrica, Rías Baixas 2017

94 Silver

£29.95 Jeroboams

With ripe peach and apricot aromas, this is a rich and ripe style with a creamy texture, beeswax and ginger notes. Long, mineralsalty finish. Alc 13.5%

Attis, Nana, Rías Baixas 2018

92 Silver

£22.69 Decántalo

Pithy, salty, lime peel and pollen nose. Pure fruit expression from a warmer area; quite rich and evolved. Mellow finish and lanolin texture; cleverly crafted. Alc 13.5%

Martín Códax, Rías Baixas, Galicia 2020

92 Silver

£13.49-£18.95 Carruthers & Kent, Fine Wine Co, Hay Wines, Majestic, Nicholson’s Wines, South Downs Cellars, The Secret Cellar, Wine Direct

Lemon zest and melon skin, pithy flavours of lemon and melon, notes of pear skin and fresh sea air. Finishes lengthily. Alc 12.5%

Pedralonga, Rías Baixas 2019

91

Silver

N/A UK pedralonga.es

Almond and citrus nose. Savoury lemon and apple flavours with a hint of oak. Crisp, fresh apple finish. Alc 13.5%

Valmiñor, Serra da Estrela, Rías Baixas, Galicia 2020

91 Silver

£13-£13.55 Hic, Strictly Wine

Good fruit and varietal definition, some minerality, very fresh and saline. Lots of bright fruit and peachy/apricot notes. Pleasant wine. Alc 12.5%

Portugal

Anselmo Mendes, Parcela Unica, Monção e Melgaço, Vinho Verde 2018

95 Gold

N/A UK anselmomendes.pt

Hints of resin, herbs, yellow fruit and floral aromas. An elegant oily sensation with ripe lemon and pineapple flavours, lemony acidity and an expressive finish. Alc 13%

Provam, Varanda do Conde, Monção e Melgaço, Vinho Verde 2020

95 Gold

N/A UK provam.com

Fresh lemon, white flower and mineral aromas. Lovely lees texture on the palate with zesty acidity and white orchard blossom and passion fruit flavours. Alc 12%

Quinta da Venda, Grande Reserva, Vinho Verde 2019

91 Silver

#quintadavenda

Fresh yellow apple and plum aromas, creamy texture on the palate with lime and gooseberry flavours and a sweet-spiced quince finish. Alc 13%

Moldova

Fáutor Winery, Blanca Cuvée, Valul lui Traian 2020

90 Silver

N/A UK fautor.wine

Delicate floral notes of white flowers, jasmine on the nose. Refreshing acidity jumping out of the glass, and good concentration of stone fruits. Alc 12.5%

New Zealand

Leftfield, Harvest Duel, Gisborne 2020

91 Silver

£11.99-£13.99 Cadman Fine Wines, Cambridge Wine Merchants, Hedonism, NZ House of Wine, The Oxford Wine Co

Lively, youthful nose, tangy citrus and hints of spice. Very appealing peachy-style palate, showing lovely lean acidity and intensity of fruit. Alc 13.5%

Ukraine

Beykush, Fantasy, Nikolayev 2019

90 Silver

N/A UK @beykushwinery

Bright, aromatic stone fruits and orange peel on a nose that’s intense and concentrated. Fresh and floral on the palate, with plenty of crisp citrus. Alc 13%

Uruguay

Bodega Garzón, Reserve, Maldonado 2020

95 Gold

POA Liberty Wines

Saline, complex nose with white peach, mango and elderflower nuances. Crisp and aromatic, lively, almost effervescent with a zesty acidity. Lively and delicious with bright fruit. Alc 13.5%

Search more top-scoring Albariño wines from DWWA 2021

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Origins of Albariño – Ask Decanter

Sarah Jane Evans MW, Sarah Ahmed and Beth Willard tasted 83 wines with 7 Outstanding and 29 Highly Recommended.

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit a single wine of their choice of vintage, and 100% single-varietal Albariño/Alvarinho

Albariño versus Alvarinho panel tasting scores

83 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 7

Highly recommended 29

Recommended 33

Commended 8

Fair 4

Poor 0

Faulty 2

Albariño is a seasoned traveller. Recently licensed in Bordeaux, you’ll also find it in Uruguay, New Zealand, California and southern France. Yet nowhere does it better than the northwest of the Iberian peninsula, where it’s an ancient variety.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Albariño vs. Alvarinho wines

For this Iberian showdown, the Spanish entries came, with two exceptions, from Rías Baixas, predominantly from the Salnés sub-zone. The Portuguese samples came almost exclusively from the top-quality Vinho Verde sub-zone of Monçāo e Melgaço, with a notable exception from the Douro.

This is a variety that loves the granite of both regions. The tasting confirmed its adaptability to terroir, with clear differences in style. It is very sensitive to climate, whether the humid, maritime Rías Baixas, or the higher altitude and more continental character of Monçāo e Melgaço.

Highlighting these differences, Beth Willard commented that Alvarinho sees more differences in quality between the entry-level wines and the top ones, while Albariño is in general more consistent. Specialist importer Nick Oakley, who works in both countries, notes that this consistency is Albariño’s great selling point.

Over the river Minho in northern Portugal, Alvarinho (along with Loureiro) plays a starring role in dry, still Vinho Verde (traditionally a spritzy varietal blend).

Produced in nine different sub-zones, until this year only 100% Alvarinho from the sub-zone of Monçāo e Melgaço enjoyed Vinho Verde DOC status. Others were labelled Vinho Regional Minho (VR Minho shares the same boundaries as DOC Vinho Verde, but the regulations for the DOC are stricter).

From 2021, 100% single-varietal Alvarinho from any sub-zone can declare DOC on the label.

See all 83 tasting notes and scores from the Albariño vs. Alvarinho panel tasting

Albariño/Alvarinho: the facts

Albariño (Spain)

Area planted 4,093ha in Rías Baixas, of which 96% Albariño

Growers 5,131 in Rías Baixas

Production 1990 3.1m litres, 2020 23.5m litres

source: CRDO Rías Baixas, 2019/20

Alvarinho (Portugal)

Area planted 3,227ha across Portugal, 2% of national vineyard production

Monçāo e Melgaço vineyards 1,700ha of Alvarinho

Monçāo e Melgaço growers 2,000

source: IVV, 2018; Wines of Portugal

Albariño showed its typical stone fruit character, with richness, ripe citrus, and white flower aromatics. Sarah Ahmed also found a briny, maritime note, like ‘pickled jalapeño water’.

Many wines declared four to 24 months of ageing on lees, which built a successful complexity. Willard, though, was discouraged to observe the effects of Albariño’s popularity: ‘Everyone is rushing wines out – these 2020s have distinct primary tropical fruit. They are missing out on the complexity that an extra year gives, and it has damaged the category.’

Certainly, though, the best Albariños age beautifully – it is well worth seeking them out. Ahmed agreed: ‘I have tasted Alvarinhos that have been 10 to 20 years old, and they have aged really well.’

The Alvarinhos here distinguished themselves by their power and structure. Soalheiro’s Granit was a textbook example of ‘continental’ Alvarinho grown on poor granite soils at 350m: less aromatic, less rounded, more linear and mineral.

Historically, Alvarinho was said to have lower alcohol than Albariño, but today there is little difference. Overall, one factor was clear. As Ahmed concluded, whether Albariño or Alvarinho: ‘This tasting showed that it is a noble variety.’

Top-scoring wines from the Albariño vs. Alvarinho panel tasting

The wines listed below all scored 92 points or above

The judges

Sarah Jane Evans MW is an awarded journalist, author and broadcaster, and a DWWA Co-Chair. Author of The Wines of Northern Spain (Infinite Ideas, 2018), she is also the current chair of Spain’s Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino.

Sarah Ahmed is an awarded wine writer, educator and judge who specialises in Portugal and Australia. A Cavaliero of the Confraria do Vinho do Porto, she is the DWWA Regional Chair for Portugal and publishes her own website at thewinedetective.co.uk

Beth Willard is buying director for independent merchant Winetraders, introducing new wines from Spain and Eastern Europe to the UK. Formerly buying manager at Direct Wines, she is a member of Spain’s Gran Orden de Caballeros de Vino and of the Confrérie de Tokaj in Hungary.

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Top Portuguese white wines for summer

Planted in its heartland of Galicia, and particularly Rías Baixas, on Spain’s fresh north-western Atlantic coast, Albariño is an aromatic white grape variety that makes fresh, breezy wines.

In Portugal it’s known as Alvarinho and is used to make Vinho Verde wines, which have more citrus and green apple character than their peachy Spanish cousins.

‘For a long time, it was thought that Albariño was related to Savagnin from Jura, but DNA analysis proved this also incorrect,’ wrote Pedro Ballesteros Torres, about the origins of the variety. 

However, good value Albariño wines can now be found all over the winemaking world, in locations as unexpected as Uruguay, New Zealand and the United States.

Ranging from light and minerally to fuller-bodied with intense stone fruit character, they all share a high level of acidity which makes them perfect wines to drink in the summer months.

Try one of the Albariños below with light summer dishes and salads.

Albariños also make a particularly good pairing with fish and seafood, from sea bream and hake to squid and sardines, as well as fruits de mer platters.

Look out for our Albariño vs Alvarinho panel tasting in the September issue of Decanter, on sale early August. 

Best Albariño wines under £20: Ten to try

The following wines have been tasted by a range of Decanter experts. 

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Most people are glad to leave memories of 2020 behind; to wave goodbye to one of the most challenging years in our lifetime. But amid seemingly endless clouds, there were silver linings.

The Covid-19 global pandemic presented us with an amazing opportunity to learn, adapt and demonstrate resilience both as individuals and professionals.

Scroll down for Dirceu Vianna Jr MW’s tasting notes on wine trends for 2021

It was no different for the wine industry. Many businesses have thrived, while others suffered irreparable damage – especially in the hospitality sector – as well as those in wine regions also affected by natural disasters, such as in the USA and Australia.

A new year brings new hope, positivity, and an opportunity to start afresh. However turning a page in the calendar does not necessarily mean that everything we went through last year will instantly change too.

The seismic shifts that began in 2020 will continue to develop in our wine trends for 2021. Many changes we had to make are now already ingrained and will become habits.

Embracing change amid uncertainty

New wines have made headlines, such as Prosecco rosé, but arguably the biggest changes to our wine consumption over the past 12 months have been buying wine online, favouring local producers and finding alternatives to glass-bottle packaging.

Countries, regions and brands that were able to adapt rapidly to new forms of communication last year reaped the benefits. In 2021, producers will need to demonstrate creativity to overcome the increasing saturated digital channels to carry on building lasting relationships with consumers.

As uncertainty hangs over the future of much of the wine trade, most businesses are likely to stop, cut or postpone investments in marketing, advertising, market insight and consumer interaction to reduce expenses.

That is a mistake. Those wine producers, companies and regions willing to go against the grain and invest are more likely to create new trends and benefit in the long run.

While we wait for a return to some semblance of normality and dream of travelling again, wine brings us relief and the hope of a prosperous new year.

One thing that we know for certain and starts here: 2021 will be filled with delicious and interesting wines. Here are 10 wine trends for 2021 I predict will be the ones to watch.

Wine trends for 2021

Albariño/Alvarinho

Albariño is an exciting variety. Originally from the northwest part of Spain, it is also planted in several regions of Portugal. It has even recently been allowed into the Bordeaux appellation.

In the New World, plantings are spreading fast – in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and the United States.

Albariño yields well, can resist disease and is adaptable to different terroirs. In the cellar it lends itself to different techniques, including skin contact, lees ageing and also responds well to oak.

Styles can vary from lighter-weight, low-alcohol (11%) wines with delicate citrus fruit flavours to those that are richer and creamier, carrying more alcohol (13%) and an abundance of tropical fruit.

Whatever the style, the wines are expressive, versatile with food, boast sublime freshness and can age gracefully. For all these reasons, plantings will continue to increase rapidly around the world, gaining Albariño continued popularity in 2021 and beyond.

Criolla

Criolla, known in other parts of the world as País, Uva Negra and Mission, was the most planted variety in Argentina between 1600 and 1850.

But more than 10,000ha of Criolla has been lost since the turn of the century. This is due to the demise in local consumption, the influx of European varieties, and the unsuitable migration of plantings from eastern Mendoza to cooler, higher-altitude spots in the west.

Concerned with the loss of genetic material, Argentina’s National Agriculture Technology Institute has been researching and mapping out old Criolla vineyards. In addition, a growing number of producers such as Catena, Trapiche (El Esteco) and Mauricio Lorca have been exploring Criolla to good effect.

The best examples are fragrant and light-bodied, with moderate levels of alcohol and wonderful freshness – precisely what today’s wine drinkers are looking for.

Croatia

Croatia has a rich winemaking history. Wine production on the Dalmatian islands of Hvar, Korčula and Vis stretches back more than 2,500 years.

In recent decades, production has been shifting from cooperatives to the hands of quality-focused individuals.

Aside from an ideal climate, multiplicity of soils and diversity of terroir, the country has several interesting white varieties such as Graševina, Malvazija Istarska, Pošip and Grk as well as reds like Crljenak Kaštelanski and Plavac Mali alongside international varieties.

These wines have a strong sense of identity and there are several exciting producers to be discovered, such as Rizman, Krauthaker, Stina, Kozlović, Matošević and Volarević among many others.

Jo Ahearne, a British Master of Wine, started to make wine on the Island of Hvar in 2014. By sourcing unique local grapes and employing low-intervention techniques she manages to achieve wines of real character and distinction.

Portugal

Portuguese wines boast an amazing combination of quality and consistency. The country’s abundance of indigenous varieties offers an enviable uniqueness that is not easily surpassed.

But the dominance of small producers and unusual grape varieties mean many of the wines need to be sold by smaller independent retailers and through bar and restaurant wine lists – which has posed a challenge in recent times.

Nevertheless, Portugal also has medium and large producers making exciting wines, offering consumers excellent value for money in all price points through bigger merchants and high-street retailers.

In addition, creative marketing strategies by Wines of Portugal has enabled the country to increase its total export volumes by 4.9% last year. There is a sense of excitement that the success will be repeated in 2021.

Slovenian whites

Following in the steps of its neighbours in Eastern Europe, Slovenia has been making excellent wines for years, but little gets exported and the country is yet to receive the recognition it deserves.

There are three main wine-producing regions: Posavje (on the border with Croatia), Podravje (bordering Hungary) and Primorska (located across the border from Friuli in Italy). The latter is the one that justifies special mention.

The beautiful countryside of Primorska, with its gentle rolling hills reminiscent of Tuscany, provide different exposures to vineyards planted on friable soils, particularly in the sub-region of Goriška Brda.

Its proximity to the Alps and Adriatic ensure cooler nights, which enable producers to achieve white wines of wonderful aromatic expression underpinned by racy freshness.

There are many noteworthy producers here, such as Sčurek, Simčič, Gašper, Edi Simčič and Movia, all making remarkable white wines, particularly with the late-ripening variety of Rebula (aka Ribolla Gialla in Italy).

Austrian reds

Wines of Austria did a brilliant job adapting to new challenges in 2020 by hosting webinars and hybrid tastings, and looks set to continue this into 2021.

The country’s overall standard of wine quality is high. Areas such as Kamptal, Kremstal and Wachau are well known and established, especially for whites. But there are also interesting red wines to be discovered further afield, in areas such as Neusiedlersee, historically famous for its sweet wines.

Zweigelt, Austria’s most planted red grape, is often misunderstood. The variety is adaptable to different terroirs, it is versatile in terms of winemaking and capable of offering a wide range of styles. When yields are effectively managed by diligent producers, Zweigelt is a truly exciting wine.

Contrary to what many critics and textbooks affirm, Zweigelt can age well, and is also a versatile food companion that deserves better recognition.

New South American terroirs

The pursuit of cooler spots to combat the effects of climate have led South America’s wine producers to explore progressively marginal regions. Plantings have been moving further south yielding several interesting wines on both sides of the Andes.

In Chile, look out for exciting wines coming out of Traiguén, at 38°S in Malleco, Araucanía – the country’s southernmost appellation, parallel to Argentina’s Patagonia. Here Francisco Baettig, one of Chile’s most celebrated winemakers, has his own project: Baettig Wines. And, under winemaker Viviana Navarrete, Tayu 1865 is a new collaboration between Viña San Pedro Tarapacá and the local Mapuche community in Buchahueico.

In Argentina, some of the best wines from new terroirs are coming from the Otronia project, which claims to be the southernmost vineyard in the world – at 45’33°S in the Sarmiento, Chubut. Here, winemaker Juan Pablo Murgia and his team brave difficult conditions – lack of rain, frost and high winds – to craft world class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Changing perceptions in Spain

From traditional single-vineyard Rioja and prestige Cava to emerging regions such as Bierzo, Gredos and the Canary Islands, Spain has so many interesting producers and exciting varieties to explore.

There is an increasing appetite for experimentation here, along with a real determination to make elegant wines with a sense of place.

Elías López Montero masterminded the Ulterior Project, aiming to battle climate change and alter the perception that La Mancha – an area often dismissed for being too hot and dry – can produce high-quality wines.

Here, Montero uses varieties such as Tinto Velasco, Malvasia de Sitges, Moravia Agria, Albillo Real and Albillo Mayor, among others, to craft fresh, terroir-driven wines.

Similarly, with another project, Bodegas Verum, he aims to challenge the belief that Airén, one of the world’s most widely planted varieties with dubious quality credentials – is capable of producing high-quality wines.

Orange wines

The role of wine is to give pleasure. This isn’t achieved by any form of extreme intervention or relying excessively on science.

Unnecessary additions, overdone extraction and excessive oak gets in the way of terroir. This route often results in homogenised wines devoid of character; wines that taste like they could come from anywhere.

But a pleasurable wine is equally rarely achieved by a hands-off approach that relies on doing nothing; hoping for the best by letting nature take its course. This is lazy winemaking and often leads to faulty wines.

Good wines are achieved by having in-depth scientific knowledge of the winemaking process and applying a supportive role and intervening when it becomes essential to protect and enhance the quality of the fruit.

There is little doubt that orange wines will continue as one of the wine trends for 2021 and beyond. However if the aim is to gain a broader audience, producers must ensure their wines are clean, consistent, devoid of faults and ultimately give the pleasure consumers are seeking.

Low alcohol

There is nothing new about the trend towards lower-alcohol wines. In all corners of the world producers have been moving towards styles that are lighter, more refreshing and easier to drink.

When this quest is not well executed it can result in wines that are excessively lean, hollow, vegetal and insipid. But when skilfully done, the results can be electrifying.

This is even more impressive when it can be achieved in areas that are renowned for arid and hot conditions – like Portugal’s Douro Valley.

Niepoort is curious; unafraid to experiment or push boundaries. He has gained knowledge and experience learning on the job in Portugal and abroad and his wines are among the country’s most exciting.

Forget spinning cones and other technologies that remove alcohol or dilute wines to achieve a lighter style. Look to these innovative producers – or cooler regions that naturally produce lower-alcohol wines, such as German Riesling, English Bacchus or a host of European sparklings.

Wine trends for 2021: the bottles to buy

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Albariño is the best-known ambassador for Galician grapes. But Galicia is much more than Albariño. In fact, the region is a heartland for a large number of highly distinctive wines made from several different grape varieties.

One might wonder why these Galician wines aren’t yet widely known. There are two reasons. Firstly, Galicia was a poor and isolated region throughout the 20th century, with no resources to produce high-quality wines, and emigration a major concern. Secondly, land holdings in Galicia are extremely small – less than 1ha per holding in many areas. On this scale, quality winemaking was almost impossible.

Today, however, an increasing number of highly skilled young professionals are dedicated to demonstrating the potential of Galician terroirs and grape varieties. Wines of high quality and uniqueness have come to the fore, albeit in very limited quantities.

Godello is the new Galician star. Rescued by Horacio Fernández Presa, an official who launched a development programme for the region in the 1970s, it came to international fame thanks to Rafael Palacios. Now, it is the base of some of the greatest wines in Spain, mainly in Valdeorras, but also in Monterrei, Ribeira Sacra and, outside Galicia, in Bierzo. Godello is very demanding in terms of viticulture and winemaking, and needs ageing in order to free its essence. The best wines improve with bottle age, offering amazing textures and unmatched class.

Treixadura is dominant in Ribeiro. Bringing aromatic, grassy notes with crisp acidity, it’s at its best when blended with Albariño, Lado, Loureira, Torrontés and other varieties. Ribeiro is all about terroir. In my opinion, it is the region with the highest potential in Spain (incidentally, its capital, Ribadavia, gave its name to one of the most appreciated wines in England in the 17th century).

In Rías Baixas, the Caíño Blanco grape makes a very interesting alternative to Albariño in its heartland. Rescued by Terras Gauda, the variety is less aromatic than Albariño, but sleeker and of firm acidity.

Until three years ago, Blanco Lexitimo was dismissed by winemakers due to a perceived insufficient genetic quality, which was mostly down to difficult ripening. However, sound viticulture, lower yields and professional winemaking have brought the variety to the world of fine wine.

Another rarity is Doña Blanca, known in Toro as Malvasía de Toro, and brought into the limelight by José Luis Mateo from Monterrei. Not very aromatic, it tends to be creamy and long. Definitely one to look out for.

There are other white (and red) varieties in Galicia with huge potential, such as Loureira and Torrontés, and some of those will hopefully rise to fame in the near future.

In my view, Galicia’s most valuable asset is its capacity to release highly distinctive wines of unmatched quality. The realisation of terroir diversity and impressive varieties, together with some smart winemaking, should end centuries of oblivion and emigration for the region. Watch this space.

Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW’s top 20 Galicia wines

Wim Schoordijk, The Netherlands, asks: In Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW’s interesting article on Alvarinho and Albariño (March 2020 issue), he writes that there is no written evidence of either until the 19th century.

But on the back label of the Albariño IGP Aude made by Laurent Miquel, who is based in St-Chinian, Languedoc, it states that Albariño was first brought to Spain’s Galicia region by French monks from Cluny centuries ago. Can you explain this discrepancy?

Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, a widely published wine writer and educator, and a DWWA Joint Regional Chair for Spain, replies: The amazing number of producers claiming that grapes were brought by monks from Cluny might suggest that those monks were the Amazon Prime of the Middle Ages! Such producers want to get historical legitimacy by linking their wines to a noble past.

However, in this case, it has been demonstrated that there is no parentage between Albariño/Alvarinho and Burgundy grape varieties – Cluny is close to the Mâcon region. For a long time, it was thought that Albariño was related to Savagnin from Jura, but DNA analysis proved this also incorrect.

In viticultural terms, there is no similarity between Albariño and the Burgundy grapes. One of Albariño’s most pertinent features is its capacity to grow in a very humid climate, being well adapted to pergola trellising systems – unlike the characteristics of Chardonnay. Albariño also produces relatively high malic acid, while continental varieties don’t.

The first written reference to Alvarinho dates from 1843, but it is very likely an ancient variety. In Wine Grapes (Robinson, Harding & Vouillamoz), it is mentioned that a parcel with 200- to 300-year-old Albariño vines has been observed. The only relevant monastery in the region is in Ribeiro, where field blends including Treixadura, Loureiro and some others are amazingly unique, and well documented in historic terms. Ribadavia, the name by which Ribeiro wines were known in the 16th century, was indeed a most appreciated style in England at that time.

Single-variety Albariño/Alvarinho wines are produced in rather marginal areas and achieved prominence only in the 20th century, thanks to the dramatic improvement in technical and social conditions in Portugal’s Salnés and Monçao & Melgaço (Vinho Verde) areas.

Aiming for high-quality wines, the Cluny monks used the varieties that worked best, blending as necessary and experimenting with crossings. What monks brought with them was primarily know-how and a vision. They created terroirs through hard work, time, study and observation, and varieties are secondary to that. In northwest Spain, you’ll find monasteries in Ribera del Duero, but no trace of any Burgundy varieties – the same in Priorat, Navarra and some other regions.

I hope that your wine is good. I’m curious to find out how Albariño can ripen while keeping its acidity and fruit expression in such a Mediterranean climate.

This question first appeared in the August 2020 issue of Decanter magazine.

See also: 

10 great value Albariño wines under £20

Aged Alvarinhos from Quinta de Soalheiro

The clue is in the name. Reflecting the place and the people behind the label, ‘Soalheiro’ is Portuguese for ‘sunny’. Inland and protected from Atlantic influence by a range of mountains, Alvarinho – Portugal’s leading white grape – thrives in Vinho Verde’s warm, dry Monção e Melgaço sub-region, just south of Galicia, Spain.

Fifty producers (and many more growers) account for 70% of Portugal’s Alvarinho plantings, according to Quinta de Soalheiro’s genial chief winemaker, António Luís Cerdeira (‘Luís’), who is proud of Monção e Melgaço’s special microclimate. Although, he observes: ‘Our terroir is warmer, less humid than Rías Baixas [on the opposite bank of the Minho river, in Spain, where the grape is called Albariño], our wines are fruitier and fresher, because we don’t need to do the malolactic fermentation.’

As I discovered during my first visit to the quinta in 2009, these qualities allow for impressive evolution in bottle. Luís neatly describes the wines as ‘very elastic on age’, since they show beautiful primary fruit, then delicious tertiary honey, curd and toast notes at around the five-year mark. The similarity to museum release (unoaked) Australian Riesling or Hunter Valley Semillon is striking. 

Soalheiro pioneered this style in Melgaço where, traditionally, vines were planted around field edges. In 1974 Luís’ father, João António Cerdeira, planted Melgaço’s first continuous rows of Alvarinho on granitic slopes, overlooking the Minho river. Launching Soalheiro Alvarinho in 1982, the tax collector and self-taught vigneron became Monção e Melgaço’s fourth producer. 

The apple didn’t fall far from the tree in the case of Luís and his equally dynamic sister, Maria João Cerdeira, who manages the vineyards. Pushing the boundaries for vines and wines, this year Soalheiro became Portugal’s first wine producer with RDI (Research, Development and Innovation) certification.

Vines and wines

Today, Soalheiro has 10ha in production (up from 4ha) and oversees another 80ha cultivated by partner growers. Certified organic, the family’s vineyards include a precocious parcel of ‘pe franco’ (un-grafted), shy-bearing vines which, planted in 2010, already contributes to the Primeiras Vinhas bottling (otherwise made from the oldest vines). 

Recently, the Cerdeiras planted another 5ha vineyard in Monção which, being the warmer valley, is expected to be earlier-ripening. With climate change in mind, at the other extreme, the family has also planted 2ha on schist at extreme elevation (1,100m). 

The obsession with Alvarinho continues in the cellar, where Luís, who studied oenology in Portugal and Burgundy, makes Alvarinho every which way, building on the classic unoaked original. A total of 16 cuvées, sourced from vineyards between 100m to 400m, range from still, sparkling and aguardente (brandy), with dry, medium-dry, unoaked, oaked, cement egg, amphora, no added sulphites and blended options. Alvarinho even features in Soalheiro’s rosé and red wines.

Whether by site or technique, Luís excels at teasing out different nuances from Alvarinho, whilst retaining core freshness and fruit power. With touches of malolactic fermentation (Terramatter), new oak (the Reserva) or no added sulphites, the more outré examples broaden Alvarinho’s food-matching possibilities. The classic unoaked Alvarinho (made with estate and grower grapes) and Primeiras Vinhas (first made in 2006) are wines to enjoy on their own, or with classic seafood matches. 

When Primeiras Vinhas is almost twice the price, my neck-and-neck scores (see below) might suggest that the original is best, but they are simply different. Naturally fermented, with around 15% barrel-fermented and aged in seasoned oak barrels and cask, Primeiras Vinhas is more refined, with a seamless structure and (subtle) savoury complexity. The micro-oxygenation in barrel means it also evolves a little faster and, says Luís: ‘In warm years, you feel more difference’.

As this tasting revealed, top vintages of Primeiras Vinhas can last over a decade. Based on previous verticals, at 15 years old, the best classics offer great pleasure. Still with tension, it is very elastic in this sense too. 

Aged Alvarinhos to try from Quinta de Soalheiro

See also: Alvarinho Vs Albariño: Top wines from Portugal and Spain rated

Many wine professionals predict that Alvarinho/Albariño will be the ‘next big thing’ in the world of wine. Whether this will come to pass remains to be seen, but what is certain is that this variety has become the most international of Iberia’s white grapes.

There are already very good Albariños (the name I will use for consistency in this article for the time being) in New Zealand, California, Uruguay and Argentina, and experiments in Australia, Washington and Oregon are showing promise. Bordeaux has even named it as an authorised grape variety – a small revolution, as its adoption marks the first time ever that the Bordelais have allowed a foreign variety in their wines.

This recent success may be a surprise, but it has been a long time coming. Albariño is a noble variety with an extensive history and a distinctive character. Research indicates that it originated in the northwest corner of the Iberian peninsula. As one might expect, the Portuguese and the Spanish don’t agree on exactly where it was born. One reason for this disagreement – aside from the obvious, national pride – is that the variety’s history is so long.

Late arrival

There’s no written evidence of either Alvarinho or Albariño until the 19th century, but there is a demonstrated secular record of high-quality wines in both regions. It is quite likely that these historic wines were field blends which included the variety, as is the case now in Spain’s DO Ribeiro.

Indeed, Albariño performs better in blends in most areas in the Iberian northwest. There are only two zones that specialise in 100% Albariño: the adjacent counties of Melgaço and Monção in Portugal’s DO Vinho Verde, and Val do Salnés in Spain’s DO Rías Baixas.

Albariño is fairly demanding in terms of viticultural practices and hygiene in the winery. It is sensitive to oidium and mildew, and prone to botrytis, although its thick skins make it resilient. The vines prefer to keep their feet dry, so they grow better in well-drained granite soils. The variety is vigorous and needs constant attention to keep it in balance – it was not possible for its potential to be fully realised until professional approaches and modern equipment arrived in Galicia and northern Portugal. This is another reason for its late renown.

Albariño was undoubtedly one of the components of the legendary wines from Ribadavia, highly valued in the English court in the 16th century. It was – and is – also a key variety in the wines of Vinho Verde, which in 1908 became one of the first wine regions in the world to be demarcated by law. Despite these uses, the variety was all but forgotten for several centuries.

The facts

Alvarinho in Monção e Melgaço

Vineyard area: 1,340ha

Growers: 2,085

Production: 7m litres

Albariño in Salnés

Vineyard area: 2,320ha

Growers: 4,002

Production: 17m litres

Sources: Comissão de Viticultura da Região dos Vinhos Verdes; Consejo Regulador de la Denominación de Origen Rías Baixas; all figures from 2018

There are two reasons for this: first, in the golden age of wine exports from Portugal and Spain (the 18th and 19th centuries), the market demanded high-alcohol wines like Port and Sherry. Albariño was more comparable with the delicate whites of Rheingau and Champagne, both of which enjoyed much easier access to urban centres. Additionally, Vinho Verde and Rías Baixas were poor and isolated regions at that time. Viticulture was part of a subsistence economy, developed in extremely small landholdings, where vines usually had to share the land with other crops and animals. There was no incentive to produce quality wines.

The incorporation of Portugal and Spain to the European Union in 1986 changed everything. Markets opened, transport infrastructure reached the regions, governance improved and, most importantly, people could get training, while wineries could receive capital investments. From then on, quality-oriented viticulture and modern winemaking began to develop – and global markets started to appreciate the unique personality and high calibre of Albariño wines.

Much in common

The main appellations of origin for Albariño are Vinho Verde in Portugal and Rías Baixas in Spain. Both are relatively large regions with a number of sub-regions: nine for Vinho Verde, and five for Rías Baixas. Many other varieties are authorised in both regions.

Vinho Verde and Rías Baixas have predominantly well-draining granite soils and an Atlantic climate, with lots of rain and mild temperatures. However, the Portuguese sub-zones are more continental, with a greater variation in temperatures and less rain. Vines are planted at very low altitudes in Salnés and many vineyards are close to the ocean, while in Monção e Melgaço they can be planted at altitudes of up to 350m.

Viticulture is also different in the two regions. In Rías Baixas many vines are still trained using pergola systems to protect the grapes from excessive humidity; however in Vinho Verde, trellis models are preferred. Today, because of mechanisation (the necessary consequence of modernisation), most new vineyards in both regions are now trained in similar ways. Rías Baixas and Vinho Verde share the same difficult heritage, namely the tiny size of individual vineyards. In Monção e Melgaço, the average vineyard size is 0.83ha; in Salnés, it is 0.58ha.

In the past, this was a major barrier to producing commercially successful wines, as small properties did not have the means or incentive to pursue high quality. In such small vineyards, older, more traditional farmers tended to aim for very high yields to compensate for their poor revenue, resulting in dilute wines of little interest. Indeed, the main challenge for new producers is buying or renting consistent vineyards.

This is why cooperatives play such a crucial role in both regions: they provide expert assistance to growers and structure the grape supply to generate added value, so that the sector can leave behind subsistence economy schemes. Co-ops have been a driver of change, facilitating a qualitative leap forward. Many of the modern improvements in quality are the consequence of simply keeping the vine’s balance by reducing yields.

Taste the difference

When it comes to distinguishing between Alvarinho and Albariño, each category has typical characteristics. Albariño from Spain tends to have aromas of stone fruit (apricot and peach), with ripe citrus and restrained floral notes (orange blossom). When picked late or in warm vintages, it is common to detect tropical fruit and even orange-peel aromas. Often, the wines show grass and hay notes, and sometimes a hint of eucalyptus. Many basic wines can be quite herbaceous, even weedy.

In Portugal, meanwhile, Alvarinho must be fresh – often with crisp acidity – and moderate in alcohol, between 12% and 13.5%, with a firm structure. Producers often try to tame its tendency to bitterness on the finish, but I think that in the best wines such an elegant bitterness can be a sign of distinction. While I struggle to imagine a more perfect match than fruity young Albariño and seafood, good Alvarinho has an amazing capacity to yield pleasure and distinction in many diverse situations. It blends extremely well with other varieties, such as Treixadura, Loureiro and Lado, and even with international varieties such as Riesling.

Albariño’s flavour profile can also be influenced by a variety of winemaking practices. Once grape quality improved, many winemakers looked to make wines that could develop over longer periods. They realised that some wines could achieve real complexity after long ageing on their fine lees, and today this is the style of some of the best-known wines. The aromatic profile then becomes quite diverse: delicate quince and honey notes appear, along with dried herbs and, in some cases, some toasty notes that could give the illusion of oak ageing. Such wines are denser on the palate, with a long aftertaste.

Other producers are dedicating increasing attention to fermentation and ageing in oak barrels. Only top-quality Alvarinho grapes can withstand such practice, however, since a lot of phenols and fruit character are needed to balance the oak influence and to retain freshness. The best examples are worth the effort: the wines are imbued with smoky and often brioche-like flavours, a slightly tannicntexture and a buttery finish.

Old Albariño is a rarity worth pursuing. After eight to 10 years, the wines lose their fruitiness and acquire a complex iodine minerality – not dissimilar to good Chenin Blanc. They keep their freshness on the palate, extend their persistence and develop a multi-layered aftertaste.

Complex expressions

Theoretically, wines from Vinho Verde should be quite different from those of Rías Baixas. The higher elevation and temperature variation in Portugal should give wines of more tension and higher acidity than those from coastal Spain, which you would expect to be mellower and rounder given the milder climate. This theory proves true for basic wines. However, tasting up the quality ladder, the differences are more complex.

In my view, in the best wines, the unique character of each varietal profile outweighs any regional personality. The only downside occurs when, with the aim of enhancing complexity, too much experimentation and influence by the winemaker masks the pure fruit expression.

Wine selection and conclusions

In choosing my recommendations, I intentionally only tasted wines from the two sub-regions that excel in making dry varietal wines: Alvarinho from Monção e Melgaço in Vinho Verde, and Albariño from Val do Salnés in Rías Baixas.

Following the tasting, I came to a few conclusions:

Both regions have top-quality examples and potential for many more great wines; neither region can be deemed better than the other.

Both regions are experimenting with lees contact and barrel fermentation/maturation, in addition to producing pure, unoaked wines. To avoid confusion and help wine drinkers with their choice, producers should indicate winemaking practices clearly on the label.

While the inherent character and balance of top Alvarinho/Albariño wines from Iberia cannot be denied, we should expect – and welcome – many other great examples from the rest of the world.

Alvarinho/Albariño is quite sensitive to terroir and the quality improves with old vines. Single-vineyard wines will be the benchmark

in the future.

Alvarinho/Albariño’s identity is built upon limited yields and careful viticulture. You get what you pay for; stay away from discounted wines.

Ballesteros Torres recommends six top Alvarinhos from Vinho Verde and six top Albariños from Rías Baixas, Galicia

Sauvignon Blanc reigns supreme and Chardonnay is well established, but an exciting range of other white grape varieties is taking root in NZ, reports Rebecca Gibb MW. Be among the first to see the results of our panel tasting for alternative New Zealand white wines...

Is there no sating the appetite for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc? The flamboyant and vibrant style that put the country on the world wine map in the mid-1980s continues to have a thirsty fan base.

The country has become synonymous with Sauvignon Blanc, but it hasn’t always been this way. It was only in 2002 that it became the most-planted variety, taking the crown from Chardonnay, a title it had only inherited from the prolific hybrid Müller-Thurgau a few years earlier.

Despite Sauvignon Blanc’s status as the most important variety in New Zealand today, the country’s vineyards are far from monochromatic. Instead there is an ever-more colourful kaleidoscope of alternative varieties occupying New Zealand’s soils.

Chenin Blanc is recorded in the early 1900s, while Gewürztraminer took root more than half a century ago. Meanwhile, Pinot Gris was praised as long ago as 1906 by the government’s first viticulturist, Romeo Bragato; though it would take another century for its star to rise.

From just 32ha in 1997, it covered 2,369ha in 2017 and is now the third most-planted white variety after Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, finding a home in the arid, southerly extremes of Central Otago.

Scroll down to see the top wines

New energy

However, a new wave of experimental planting is re-energising New Zealand’s white producers – including Galicia’s grape Albariño, predominantly in the warmer, more humid North Island; and Austria’s signature white, Grüner Veltliner, concentrated in the cool South Island. There’s also voluptuous Viognier, vigorous Verdelho and more, for the intrepid wine drinker.

That said, the so-called ‘alternative’ movement is tiny in comparison with Australia, where Italian and Spanish varieties stand alongside Shiraz and Chardonnay vines. More than eight out of 10 litres of wine that leaves New Zealand’s ports is Sauvignon Blanc; but this is an innovative young country that isn’t afraid to fund groundbreaking research and adopt pioneering technologies; with 5,000 grape varieties in the world, make no mistake, New Zealand will be taking its exploration of Vitis vinifera further.

Quick link: View all 94 tasting notes & scores from this panel tasting

The rising tide of alternatives is providing a more colourful and appetising New Zealand wine scene. The country’s maritime climate is well suited to producing aromatic whites with vibrant fruit flavours, scintillating acidity and moderate alcohol levels. And for Sauvignon Blanc loyalists? It’s just one small step from fresh, fruity and unoaked Sauvignon to fresh, fruity and unoaked Albariño, Grüner and friends – not one giant leap.

The scores

94 wines tasted

Entry criteria: Producers and UK agents were asked to submit their latest release, dry white wines from New Zealand – either varietals (85%) or blends – except Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Two wines per producer (but one Riesling only) were permitted.

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 8

Highly Recommended 33

Recommended 45

Commended 8

Fair 0

Poor 0

Faulty 0

Continue reading below

The summary

High quality and the diversity of grapes and styles made this a fascinating tasting, with plenty of choice for lovers of fresh, aromatic whites, says Rebecca Gibb MW…

It is rare to feel refreshed after a 94-wine marathon, but that’s how all three judges felt at the end of this panel tasting. ‘It’s staggering how New Zealand can produce such absolutely amazing aromatic wines with great flavours,’ said Roger Jones in the post-match appraisal.

Earlier in the day, the team had not been overly enthused when faced with nearly 40 glasses of Pinot Gris, but there were plenty of judiciously made, textural examples from the 2015, 2016 and even the challenging 2017 vintage, which led to three Outstanding and 10 Highly Recommended awards among the high scores.

Quality exceeded all expectations. Melanie Brown, founder of The New Zealand Cellar, said: ‘Having watched New Zealand struggle to determine a Pinot Gris style over the years, finally seeing Gris with flavour and structure – and with good acidity – was astonishing. Gone are the days of tasting flabby, uninspiring alternative whites. These wines were testament to a quickly evolving and dynamic industry, which is capable of retaining its premium reputation beyond Sauvignon.’

Jones revealed that Pinot Gris was an important variety for diners at his restaurant, The Harrow at Little Bedwyn. ‘We have had a huge influx of people looking for Pinot Gris from the New World,’ he said. ‘Quality-wise there was a lot of lunchtime Pinot Gris here, but there were enough high-quality entries too. When Pinot Gris has texture and a bit of bottle age, my customers love it and we need to introduce more people to it.’

While there was a palpable sense of anticipation when the Albariño and Grüner Veltliner flight was poured, the Albariños failed to generate real excitement – though we felt that the variety does have a promising future, particularly in the warmer climes of the North Island. Brown explained: ‘They are new and niche, so don’t have the presence and conviction yet. In a few more years they will have developed an edge that will allow them to attain a higher level.’

A handful of Grüners showed well and offered value, although wines from the 2017 vintage lacked aromatic and palate richness, with firm acid the driving force. Jones was still pleased. ‘They are clean, vibrant and quite exciting. I haven’t had a Grüner Veltliner that excites me from anywhere other than Austria – until today.’

The sheer diversity of New Zealand’s vineyards and the expression of different grapes across the country was impressive. A range of varieties and blends shared the Outstanding podium: Pinot Gris, Riesling, Riesling-Grüner and Marsanne-Roussane. While Marlborough dominates, representing 68% of NZ vineyards, there was a good spread of plaudits across regions from Kumeu in the north to Central Otago in the south.

A number of varieties have made their home around the country, including Pinot Gris, but there are climatic differences across New Zealand, which are reflected in the choice of grapes planted. The warmer-climate grapes Viognier and Marsanne showed that they can excel in Hawkes Bay and Gisborne in the North Island; while the finest Rieslings and Grüner Veltliners are rightly situated on the cool South Island (and in Martinborough).

There is certainly value for money to be found with three of the eight wines rated Oustanding and 12 Highly Recommended wines costing less than £15. At this price, it won’t cost you the earth to go to the end of the world to discover the adventurous side of New Zealand wine.

Our tasters each pick their top 3 wines

Melanie Brown

Brown joined the team at The Providores in 2006, where she helped to develop the largest list of premium New Zealand wine in the UK. She launched her own specialist retailer, The New Zealand Cellar, in 2014, followed by a wine bar and shop in London, where she curates a unique selection of New Zealand wine events.

Millton Vineyards, Te Arai Chenin Blanc, Gisborne 2016

I’ve always been seduced by this wine, which is opulent but with poise and tension. James Millton is New Zealand’s biodynamics pioneer. One of the most texturally pleasing New Zealand wines I’ve tasted. 95/100 Drink 2018-2021

Mount Edward Riesling, Central Otago 2017

Duncan Forsyth, the winemaker and Riesling obsessive, farms organically and produces beautiful single-vineyard wines. This has depth and brightness in equal measure, with purity. 90 Drink 2018-2024

Seifried, Grüner Veltliner, Nelson 2017

Wowzers: bright, clean and superbly approachable! The Seifried family is from Austria, so its no wonder their Austrian varietals are starting to come into their own, and at such value. 92 Drink 2018-2020

Rebecca Gibb MW

Gibb spent six years living in New Zealand, where she became a Master of Wine, graduating top of her class and winning the Madame Bollinger medal for excellence in tasting. A former winner of the Louis Roederer Emerging Wine Writer, her first book, The Wines of New Zealand, will be published this year.

Prophet’s Rock, Pinot Gris, Central Otago 2015

Pure, poised and pretty. Paul Pujol draws on his winemaking experience in Alsace to craft this finely scented Pinot Gris. It offers delicacy, balance and – despite a lick of juicy sweetness on entry – there’s a sense of savouriness. 95 Drink 2018-2023

Burn Cottage, Riesling-Grüner Veltliner, Central Otago 2015

This 54% Riesling, 46% Grüner blend is a rich and pristine style; its edges are starting to soften with time in bottle. 95 Drink 2018-2020

Trinity Hill, Marsanne-Viognier, Hawkes Bay 2016

Mr Honeysuckle meets Miss Apricot on the Gimblett Gravels in this voluptuous yet well-proportioned Rhôneinspired blend. Aged on lees for a whopping 14 months, the result is a sumptuous, suave expression. 95 Drink 2018-2020

Roger Jones

Jones and his wife Sue own Michelin-starred restaurant The Harrow at Little Bedwyn. He consults, writes and travels extensively, hosting food and wine matching experiences. He set up The Tri Nations Wine Challenge to promote the wines of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, which will take place in Hawkes Bay next year.

Kumeu River, Pinot Gris, Kumeu 2016

More famous for their Chardonnay, but the Brajkovich family certainly knows how to make stylish, elegant, classy wines – and this Pinot Gris is up there with the very best. 96 Drink 2018-2022

Escarpment, Pinot Gris, Martinborough 2015

I have known Larry ‘McPinot’ McKenna for many years and this Pinot Gris showcases his capacity to make stunning white wines too – and at a great value price. 95 Drink 2018-2024

Burn Cottage, Riesling-Grüner Veltliner, Central Otago 2015

Farmed biodynamically on a tiny site where it was not suitable to plant Pinot Noir. Rich and energetic, this wine will age beautifully. Ted Lemon of Littorai is the consultant winemaker here. 95 Drink 2018-2020

Alternative New Zealand whites: the facts

White plantings in 2017 Sauvignon Blanc 22,230ha; Chardonnay 3,114ha; Pinot Gris 2,369ha; Riesling 721ha; Gewürztraminer 229ha; Sauvignon Gris 109ha; Viognier 97ha; Semillon 46ha; Grüner Veltliner 44ha; Muscat varieties 31ha; Albariño 28ha; Arneis 23ha; Chenin Blanc 21ha; Pinot Blanc 9ha; Verdelho 7ha

Total New Zealand vineyard size 37,129ha

Wineries 677

Production 253m litres

Sources: NZ Winegrower Annual Reports: Vineyard Register Report 2017-2020

New Zealand: know your vintages

2017 Difficult season with poor summer. Wet and warm autumn led to botrytis pressure. Early picked crops were most successful. A very small crop in Central Otago.

2016 Record crop. Warm, often humid. Harvest period was dry and sunny. Excellent whites and highly attractive reds.

2015 Dry and warm. Small, low-yielding crop after cool flowering. Ripe, perfumed and fully flavoured wines.

2014 Record early vintage. Warm summer with little disease pressure. Excellent across the board.

2013 Touted as the vintage of a lifetime with a warm, incredibly dry summer and autumn. Concentrated, ripe wines across the North and South Islands.

2012 Cool summer led to a late harvest with slow ripening of whites. Intense, vivacious whites, but too cool for later-ripening reds.

Top alternative New Zealand whites from the panel tasting:

View all the tasting notes & scores from the panel tasting

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New Zealand 2017: A vintage recap and whites to try

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Mature New Zealand wines from the cellar

There’s much more to these northern Spanish wines than just Albariño, says Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, who looks at the five main regions and their key varieties...

Most consumers associate Galicia with the Albariño grape from Ríax Baixas. Understandable, given Albariño’s success in the international market, but this singular view is far from the reality in this diverse region.

Galicia has a remarkable grape heritage that is structured around Albariño and two other key white varieties, Treixadura and Godello, but includes at least 15 other native grapes.

Indeed, Albariño is a parvenu in historic terms. Galician wines were imported and highly appreciated in the United Kingdom as long ago as the 14th century. These were not just from Albariño but a blend of varieties cultivated further inland in the Ribeiro denomination, including Treixadura, Loureiro, Godello, Torrontés and Lado.

Quick Link: View all 96 wines from this panel tasting

Such was the fame of those wines that, in 1579, the local government of Ribadavia set up a law to prevent frauds, protecting the wines’ indication of origin and accepted winemaking practices. Ribeiro was arguably the world’s first wine appellation.

Scroll down to see the results

Revival of the fittest

The dominant variety in Ribeiro is Treixadura. Forty years ago it was almost extinct, being replaced by the neutral and productive Palomino from Jerez, but thanks to a revival, it is now the flagship for the region.

Treixadura offers refined aromas, balanced acidity and, in the best terroirs, a complex, multi-layered finish. It is most often blended with Albariño and other varieties, rendering wines that often express an origin rather than varietal character.

Going inland within Galicia, where the climate is markedly more continental, Albariño and Treixadura become less relevant in blends, with Godello taking the lead role in the wines of Ribeira Sacra and Monterrei.

Once in Valdeorras, bordering Castilla y León, Godello becomes the almost exclusive variety. In 1974 Godello looked set to disappear – just 200 vines were left in Valdeorras. Thankfully, a research programme launched by Horacio Fernández saved it from extinction, and put Valdeorras back on the fine wine map.

A few years later, Rafael Palacios and other quality-minded producers surprised national and international markets with their Godellos of amazing finesse. Now the variety is widely planted in Ribeira Sacra and Monterrei too, where it gives rounder wines.

Other grape varieties play an increasingly interesting role on the Galician scene. Loureiro is distinguished because of its aromatic appeal; Caíño Blanco, a recent discovery by Terras Gauda, gives amazing minerality; and Doña Blanca, quite neutral, becomes very attractive in the hands of a few experts. Torrontés (nothing to do with the Argentinian Torrontés), Lado and Verdejo are other promising varieties.

The scores

96 wines tasted

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their latest-release wines made from Galician grapes (excluding 100% Albariño) and blends (including no more than 50% Albariño) from the DOs of Monterrei, Rías Baixas, Ribeira Sacra, Ribeiro and Valdeorras

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 5

Highly Recommended 32

Recommended 52

Commended 6

Fair 1

Poor 0

Faulty 0

The results

Consumers should look beyond Albariño to Galicia’s other indigenous grapes, said our experts, who enthused over these fresh, delicate whites. Amy Wislocki reports:

Albariño is without doubt Galicia’s calling card when it comes to white wines – or wines in general, for that matter. But it’s time that wine lovers discovered the other varied whites from this region, urged our tasters.

‘We had a taste of Galicia stand at a consumer event recently, where we showed two Albariños, a white from Ribeiro and a red from Ribeira Sacra,’ said Beth Willard, a buyer for Direct Wines. ‘It was great to be able to use the success of Albariño, and customer knowledge of that grape, to encourage them to try the white Ribeiro – and they loved that full-bodied richness, fruitiness and complexity of the wine, and the freshness that was such a recurring theme in this Decanter panel tasting.’

‘Ribeiro is reliably the one Galician appellation that is absolutely wonderful,’ said Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW. ‘There were very few wines from here that didn’t show great personality. And it’s a personality built on style rather than varietal character. These producers are looking for delicacy and subtlety rather than power, and these wines have an incredible freshness and length.’

‘If people like the richness and ripeness of a fruity Chardonnay, and they like the acidity and zestiness of Sauvignon Blanc, then Ribeiro is a good place for those drinkers to go,’ said Willard. ‘It bridges both styles, but with more delicacy. They are not overly complex wines, but very appealing, drinkable and enjoyable.’

Another strong performer was Doña Blanca, a grape found mostly in the Monterrei sub-region. ‘Until now, it’s been considered supremely uninteresting,’ explained Ballesteros Torres. ‘But a growing number of producers are making very unique wines from this neutral variety, by playing with old vines, and/or lees contact.’

Sarah Jane Evans MW also praised the three examples of Loureiro: ‘It was a real discovery for me. You usually encounter it in blends, but here it made lovely, pale-coloured, low-alcohol wines with freshness and acidity that was reminiscent of Australian Riesling.’

The Godello grape came in for more criticism, from all the tasters. ‘It’s being seen as the next big thing in Spanish wine, and I think that’s completely misguided,’ Ballesteros Torres stated firmly. ‘It can excel in a few areas, but it’s very capricious and site-sensitive, and in most places it’s just boring. It lacks the fresh acidity of Treixadura [found in many Ribeiro whites], and it lacks the attractive bitterness of Albariño.’

The sub-region of Valdorreas also failed to impress. ‘It’s a bit warmer there, and it may be that the winemaking isn’t being done in the best way to preserve acidity,’ said Evans. ‘Quite a few of the wines weren’t as fresh or delicate as I would wish – think tinned yellow peaches rather than white peaches, for example.’

But the overall mood was high. ‘Galicia is a region I’ve always loved drinking,’ said Willard. ‘You’re getting complexity but you don’t have to work too hard, which is perfect at this price point. It’s all about the freshness and the fruit. Most wines are unoaked, and would be a perfect match for the region’s fantastic fresh fish.’

But you don’t necessarily need to drink them with a meal. ‘There were only a few notes where I used the word “gastronomic”, meaning that I wouldn’t drink it without food,’ said Evans. ‘These are lovely, very versatile and good-value whites – definitely something you should have in the fridge.’

Our tasters each pick their top 3 wines from the tasting:

Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW

Ballesteros Torres is the DWWA Regional co-Regional Chair for Spain and holds a master’s in viticulture and oenology among his qualifications. He is on the council of the Institute of Masters of Wine, the boards of the Spanish Tasters Union, and International Federation of Wine Journalists and was made a member of the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino.

Emilio Rojo, Ribeiro 2015

This wine bewitches the mind and the senses with its refinement and understated complexity. Its unique profile is not down to any grape variety or winemaking practice, but to an origin. If there was one ‘terroir wine’ in this tasting, this was it. Wonderfully distinguished and delicately characterful. An icon! 98 Drink 2018-2024

Attis, Atalante, Rías Baixas 2015

Multi-layered fruity freshness – almost Albariño-like, but with distinctive minerality and a very long finish. The confirmation that Caíño Blanco is a top white variety, with great potential. This has great appeal. 95 Drink 2018-2022

Atrium Vitis, Silius Bucce, Galicia 2015

An original style, built upon lees contact, but keeping a distinctive aroma. Creamy, dense, long: a provocative drink for adventurous wine lovers, with real consistency and complexity. A wine to keep an eye on – there is something special here. 92 Drink 2018-2023

Sarah Jane Evans MW

Evans is a DWWA co-Chair and an award-winning journalist who began writing about wine in the 1980s. She is a recognised expert in Spanish wine and a member of the Gran Orden de Caballeros de Vino. A past Chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine, Evans divides her time between wine writing, education and judging.

Emilio Rojo, Ribeiro 2015

This is the joy of blind tasting – suddenly encountering an astonishing wine! It’s a wine that makes you want to grab the bottle and a glass and share it with the world. Singingly pure, with passion fruit acidity. A unique treasure from Ribeiro. 96 Drink 2018-2024

Attis, Atalante, Rías Baixas 2015

There is more to Rías Baixas than its lovely Albariños. The local Caiño Blanco grape is still not often found unblended. Here, it starts charmingly, then develops fine complexity, with a lick of refreshing acidity. Very long. 95 Drink 2018-2022

Finca Viñoa, Ribeiro 2016

Another treat from Ribeiro, showing the quality and potential of the Treixadura grape. This is a relatively new project, reviving the terraces of the Avia Valley. Beautifully balanced, with exotic fruit notes and thrilling acidity. 95 Drink 2018-2021

Beth Willard

Willard started her wine career in events and promotions at Hardy’s Canberra winery, Kamberra, and then worked for a small family producer, Capital Wines. Making the shift to Europe, she spent a year working at the Syndicat de Bordeaux before moving into buying. As part of the buying team for Direct Wines, her specialties Spain and Eastern Europe.

Pazo Tizón, Extramundi, Ribeiro 2016

I was really excited when this wine was revealed: I’ve loved it since tasting the first vintage, and great to see a top Ribera del Duero producer behind it. Ripe tropical, herbal fruit with a racy backbone and saline finish. 97 Drink 2018-2021

Emilio Rojo, Ribeiro 2015

A really unique and beautiful wine. It is fleshy and concentrated but still lively: it feels like it is dancing on your palate! Lemon sherbet, tropical fruit, wild herbs and a touch of white pepper on the finish. Delicious. 96 Drink 2018-2024

Lagar do Merens, Fermentado en Barrica, Ribeiro 2015

I don’t know this producer, so it was great to taste something new at this quality level. It’s rich but balanced with a creamy texture and flavours of green apple, peach and a lovely touch of pain d’épices. Needs to be enjoyed with food. 96 Drink 2018-2024

Galicia: the facts

Total area under vine (2016)

Rías Baixas: 4,048ha

Ribeiro: 2,232ha

Valdeorras: 1,351ha

Ribeira Sacra: 1,241ha

Monterrei: 467ha

Wine producers (red and white)

Rías Baixas: 6,031 growers, 170 wineries

Ribeiro: 5,782 growers, 115 wineries

Valdeorras: 2,721 growers, 18 wineries

Ribeira Sacra: 2,438 growers, 89 wineries

Monterrei: 381 growers, 24 wineries

Annual white grape production (2016)

Rías Baixas: 33.2 million kilograms

Ribeiro: 16.4 million kg

Valdeorras: 3.1 million kg

Monterrei: 3 million kg

Ribeira Sacra: 0.4 million kg

Galicia: know your vintages

2016 Widely considered an excellent vintage. Drink over the next five years.

2015 Variable because of issues with rot, but the average quality is quite high. Drink or keep.

2014 Challenging in Rías Baixas, but excellent in other appellations, Valdeorras in particular. Drinking well now.

2013 Cool, humid vintage. Most wines are uninteresting. Ribeiro is the exception, enjoying a great year. Drink.

Top Galician whites from the panel tasting:

See all 96 wines from the panel tasting

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The panel felt it was a tasting of two extremes. Pierre Mansour explained: ‘There were some truly great wines with real identity, class and intensity, but at the same time they were light and gentle in structure and alcohol. There were no poor or faulty wines, but too many neutral ones.’ Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW completely agreed: ‘Half of the wines tasted as if they were made in the winery – you couldn’t identify the grape or the terroir. They were just simple, fresh white wines that left me disappointed.’

Scroll down to see the best Albariño wines from the panel tasting

It felt like Albariño was ‘suffering from the Pinot Grigio effect’, continued Ballesteros Torres. ‘You make a good wine and people fall in love with it. So you decide to increase your production tenfold and expect people to still love it? It won’t happen.’ Sarah Jane Evans MW admitted that Albariño was in ‘a risky position’. Rueda had damaged itself already by diluting the character of its Verdejos and hunting lower prices, she explained. ‘And Albariño is well on its way to doing the same thing.’

Pinot Grigio to change your mind

Weather may have had a big part to play in the poor results, with many of the wines from the mediocre 2014 vintage. Mansour said the region’s climate ‘might explain some of the neutrality and dilution. It’s very wet there, and producers have to take care of their vineyards.’ He also conceded that those 2015s that were submitted were those that had not had any lees contact, ‘which makes a huge and positive difference in Albariño’.

Decanter travel guide: Galacia, Spain

But it wasn’t all bad. The best examples did impress the judges, who were not shy in waxing lyrical about their quality. Evans described them as ‘gloriously aromatic, with seductive and charming fruit’ and urged readers to snap them up. Mansour felt the wines were made to be drunk young – with the exception of the Pazo de Señorans 2008, which had the acidity, fruit and structure to enable it to age for decades yet.

While not many wines declared sub-regions on their labels, our panel felt that it was still too early to clearly differentiate between them blind. However, Evans said she detected a saline character in the wines from Val do Salnés, which Ballesteros said represented the ‘true identity of Rías Baixas Albariño’.

As a parting message to readers, Mansour advised them to ‘stick with good producers’, while Ballesteros Torres said at under £15, these wines represented ‘great, consistent value – and they’re better than Pinot Grigio!’

Best Albariño: Panel tasting results

The new-look Ribeiro is rediscovering its indigenous grape varieties: Treixadura, Loureiro, Godello, Torrontés, Lado… and more. It is also once again exploiting its unique terroir, close to the Atlantic Ocean but protected from it by mountains (making it much less humid than Rías Baixas, with shallow granite soils providing purity), and centuries of tradition in the production of fine wine.

The range of qualities and styles is quite broad in Ribeiro. The best examples offer purity of fruit, with typical green leaf aromas, laurel and mint, and brioche for those with lees contact. On the palate they tend to be quite moderate in alcohol – 12.5% to 13% alcohol – fresh, expressive and different. With few exceptions, they are best drunk within five years of harvest.

Our second appellation in this selection, Valdeorras, has a different story. Further east again, it nestles against the border with León and has a remarkably continental climate. It owes its fame to its flagship white grape variety Godello, and to a few heroes who understood and exploited its potential.

The best Godello wines from Valdeorras are comparable to top Burgundy: solidly built but delicate, quite terroir-sensitive, complex and racy, and very long. They benefit from lees contact and bâtonnage (lees stirring), and need some bottle ageing to acquire their best expression. They are likely to become collectable: Spanish new wave classics. You heard it here first!

Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW is Decanter World Wine Awards Regional co-Chair for Spain and Sherry. This wines first appeared in Expert’s Choice in Decanter magazine – subscribe to Decanter here. Editing for Decanter.com by Ellie Douglas.

González Byass has acquired one of the top wineries in the DO Rías Baixas in Galicia, Bodegas Pazos de Lusco.

Bodegas Pazos de Lusco is the first Rías Baixas winery for the González Byass portfolio, joining others owned by the company in key Spanish regions, including Rioja, Rueda, Jerez, Cava and Penedès.

‘With this acquisition, González Byass strengthens its portfolio and its position of leadership in quality wine production,’ said the company.

‘Rías Baixas is one of the most recognised white wine producing Spanish DOs globally.’ A fee for the deal was not disclosed.

• READ: Rías Baixas grows up?

Wines from Bodegas Pazos de Lusco include the Albariños Lusco – which was awarded a commended medal for the 2013 vintage in the 2015 Decanter World Wine Awards – and Pazao Pineiro.

Bodegas Pazos de Lusco is located in Salvaterra do Mino and the vineyard uses the traditional pergola method, making premium Spanish white wines.

The winery also includes a sixteenth century manor house, chapel, stables and lodge.

Other wineries owned by González Byass include Tio Pepe, Finca Constancia and Vinas del Vero. As well as producing Spanish wine and Sherry, the company also sells spirits.

Winemakers have been too modest for too long about their fresh, mineral wines from unique varieties, says Sarah Ahmed. It’s time to lift the lid on ‘Europe’s best-kept-secret’.

• See Sarah Ahmed’s 22 exciting Portuguese whites here

If the Brits are known for their reserve, the Portuguese elevate it to a new level. Take the

advertising campaign which declared Portugal’s wines ‘the best-kept secret in Europe’. Or the country’s whites, which are as softly spoken and understated as many of its winemakers. But where the vogue for obscure varieties and fresher, lighter, mineral styles coincides with a quantum leap in white wine quality, it’s time to shout, not whisper about its strengths!

For upfront appeal with finesse, Alvarinho – Spain’s Albariño – is the go-to grape and Moncão e Melgaço the go-to place. Nowhere else in Portugal have so many specialists (more than 30) so intently focused on one white grape as in this sub-region of the Vinho Verde DOC (Denominação de Origem Controlada). Here, Alvarinho has incomparable aromatics, tension and minerality wed to a concentration stemming from lower yields and being Vinho Verde’s warmest, driest spot. An exciting range of expressions abound, and the best wines can develop beautifully in bottle – for a decade or more in the case of high fliers Quinta de Soalheiro and Anselmo Mendes.

Although Alvarinho is planted throughout Portugal, the country’s best whites are all about the intricate interplay of grape, region and site. In Lima, another Vinho Verde sub-region, Loureiro attains greater focus and mineral complexity (ageworthiness too, at Quinta do Ameal and Aphros). Like Loureiro, Arinto is a popular blending partner which excels on its own in the right place. In Bucelas, one of the DOCs of the generic Vinho Regional (VR) of Lisboa, Arinto’s high acidity earned it the 19th-century moniker Lisbon Hock. Cool Atlantic breezes funnelling down the Trancão river valley accentuate its steely acid backbone, the perfect foil for the tropical citrus profile gifted by Bucelas’ sun-kissed calcareous slopes. Only a handful of producers keep the faith. Best is Quinta da Romeira, though under new French ownership, Quinta da Murta is a name to watch.

Regional diversity

Limestone soils are propitious elsewhere too. In Bairrada DOC, Filipa Pato even calls her flagship white, made from Bical, Calcário. She, her father Luís Pato, Quinta das Bágeiras and Campolargo demonstrate this maritime region’s flair for fresh, mineral whites from not just Bical, but Maria Gomes and Cercial too. In hitherto humdrum Lisboa VR, the potential of pockets of Jurassic limestone and clay is at last being exploited for whites. Pedro Marques (Vale da Capucha) farms organically to convey the fresh salinity which comes from fossil-strewn calcareous slopes near the coast. Marta Soares (Casal Figueira) and André Manz (Manz) have resuscitated two Lisboa grapes, Vital and Jampal, to thrilling effect. They are not alone in placing greater value on tradition.

Squeezed out by Lisbon’s encroachment, only 12ha of Colares DOC’s ungrafted, untrellised vines remain. Less than a kilometre from the ocean, they sprawl across sand, protected from the wind by dry-stone walls and wicker fences. Newcomers Casca Wines and Casal de Santa Maria are coaxing out the charms of Malvasia de Colares, as well as stalwarts Adega Colares and Adega Viúva Gomes. Its brisk, salty, manzanilla tang is the product of this unique terroir and old-school winemaking: skin contact and maturation in old hardwood toneis (large casks).

Similarly enclosed by walls, the vineyards of the volcanic Azores island of Pico have also received an injection of fresh blood. António Maçanita of Fita Preta’s taut, mineral Terrantez do Pico and Arinto do Açores invite comparison to Santorini’s Assyrtiko. On his home turf of Alentejo, Maçanita is one of a number of producers reviving the use of talha (amphorae). They give a softer, more oxidative profile to his Signature Series Branco, a classic Alentejo blend of Roupeiro and Antão Vaz.

Landlocked, warmer, drier regions like Alentejo, which are better known for reds, typically produce blends from a cocktail of local varieties. Acidity enhancing elevation means that mountainous regions like the Douro, Dão and Beira Interior can produce surprisingly firm, focused wines. With the exception of Beira Interior’s racy, citrus-fuelled Síria (exemplified by Quinta do Cardo and Beyra), fuller-bodied whites tend towards the savoury/textural rather than aromatic/fruity. Expect vegetal notes of green olive, resin and celery, the ‘flinty’ struck match of lees-stirring and nutty, spicy oak. Schist and granite mountain soils contribute minerality.

Down south, Alentejo DOC’s sun-baked plains are more challenging, which explains why its cooler, mountainous northern subregion of Portalegre in Serra de São Mamede attracted esteemed winemakers Rui Reguinga and Susana Esteban and talented mavericks like Lisboa chef Vitor Claro (Dominó) and wine writer João Afonso (Quinta das Cabeças). Old field-blend (varietally mixed) vineyards (also commonly found in the Douro) are part of the character-building magic which puts the emphasis on terroir not variety.

Character sums up Portugal’s best whites. Their singularity gives geek appeal but, with mineral complexity, texture and structure, lovers of Riesling and Burgundy are well-served too. Plus there’s an advantage of being under the radar – the value for money which saw UK exports more than triple last year.

Sarah Ahmed is the Decanter World Wine Awards Regional Chair for Portugal. See the Portugal awarding winning whites wines here.

Decanter travel guide: Alentejo, Portugal

Rural and rustic yet with style and substance, the Alentejo's warm and generous reds are much like its people, says

Home to Santiago de Compostela, this region offers wine lovers their own pilgrimage through Ribeiro and Rías Baixas, finds Sue Style. Read her Galicia travel guide here.

Vineyards at Finca Vinoa

FACT FILE

Planted area 9,548ha

Main grape varieties

White: Albariño, Treixadura, Godello, Loureira Blanco, Caiño Blanco, Doña Branca, Torrontés

Red: Mencía, Brancellao, Merenzao, Sousón, Caiño (Tinto, Bravo, Longo), Ferrol, Espadeiro, Loureira Tinto, Tempranillo.

Main soil types granite and granitic sand, schist, slate, clay

Quick links:

• My perfect day in Galicia
• Galicia: where to stay, eat, shop and relax

Before setting off for Galicia, it’s wise to shed any preconceived notions of Spain. This northwestern corner of the country is so different from any other part of the peninsula that you may start to wonder whether you took a wrong turn and fetched up by mistake in Brittany, or somewhere on Ireland’s west coast.

• See more Decanter travel guides to Spain

This is Atlantic Spain, sheltering beneath a canopy of scudding clouds, its rocky shores lashed by furious waves, its lush countryside luminous and glistening from the most recent rain shower. It’s a land of pazos – grand manor houses surrounded by vineyards, of hórreos, or granaries, perched on stone stilts to keep rain and rodents at bay, of seafoodrich estuaries fringed with vines, allotments neatly planted with beans, turnip greens and cabbages, and hillsides grazed by some of Spain’s finest beef cattle. Evidence of Galicia as one of the country’s top food and wine destinations, on a par with the Basque country and Catalunya, is all around.

Set aside a couple of days to soak up the gentle charms of Santiago de Compostela, wander the rain-splashed, traffic-free streets of the medieval centre and join milling, modern-day pilgrims as they head for the spectacular cathedral. After a glass of Albariño in the bar of the famous Hostal dos Reis Católicos across the square, you’ll be all set for a vinous pilgrimage, combining inland Rutas do Viño with the coastal vineyards of Rías Baixas.

From Santiago, the toll road to Ourense carves its way through an emerald-green landscape fringed with eucalyptus and gorse, over a succession of sweeping viaducts and south to Ribadavia, capital of DO Ribeiro. Here, inland, you are screened from the worst Atlantic squalls by the Sierra del Suido, and midday summer temperatures routinely soar above 30°C, saved by blessedly cool nights. Vines are stacked on steep, well-drained, granitic terraces above the rivers, and equipped with drip-irrigation systems to combat water stress.

Cistercian monks laid the foundations of quality wine-growing in Ribeiro in the Middle Ages and the region’s renown grew steadily over centuries. After the disastrous 19th-century troika of oidium, mildew and phylloxera, Ribeiro subsided into a dismal backwater, planting imported high-yielding varieties (Palomino, of Sherry fame, was a favourite) and sacrificing all for quantity. Come the 1990s, a few visionaries woke again to its potential as a fine wine region, reclaiming terraces and vineyards and determined to recover its lost reputation for quality.

Ribeiro ramblings

Among these was the González Vázquez family, owner of Casal de Armán, a 20ha estate whose rural homestead makes a comfortable perch for Ribeiro explorations. The whole operation – winery, guesthouse and restaurant – is staffed by family members, who offer a range of wine-related activities. After a strenuous day exploring, enjoy a plate of garlicky zamburiñas (queen scallops) followed by roast kid, with a bottle of Finca Misenhora or Finca Os Loureiros, classy, singlevineyard whites in which the straw-gold, peachy Treixadura plays a starring role.

To get a sense of how Ribeiro is on the move and the level of investment involved, visit nearby Finca Viñoa (fincavinoa.com) high above the River Avia. The owners of this newly established estate have indulged in some serious earth-moving, carving terraces into the granite hillside streaked with seams of schist, and planting them with Ribeiro’s four signature grapes (Treixadura, Albariño, Godello and Loureira) for their single, intensely satisfying white blend.

Close by is Coto de Gomaríz (cotodegomariz.com), a 28ha estate owned by the Carreiro family, who has spent 30 years resurrecting historic sites, acquiring new plots, restoring swathes of terracing and, lately, adopting biodynamic practices – a singular challenge in Galicia’s predominantly cool, damp climate. Traditionally, explains export manager Inma Pazos, red wines outnumbered whites in Ribeiro. Today, while fragrant, full-bodied whites rule the roost (their old-vine, lightly oaked Colleita Seleccionada is exemplary), the estate is hoisting the red flag again with a range of newwave, Atlantic-inflected blends.

Ramón do Casar (ramondocasar.es) is the new kid on Ribeiro’s block, with just 8ha of Treixadura, Albariño and Godello planted on slopes above the River Miño. This family venture (opened July 2014) tells a familiar Galician story of hardship and emigration. In 1955, Ramón departed for Venezuela where he founded a bakery. It prospered, and all his remittances were invested in prime plots of land back home. In 2000 the vineyard was planted and 2013 saw the first bottlings: a Treixadura and a blend. Their labels are reproductions of the original postcards exchanged between the exiled Ramón and his bride-to-be.

From Ribeiro to the southernmost point of Rías Baixas, it’s about 90 minutes along the sinuous road beside the River Miño, which for most of the way forms the border with Portugal. Just inland from the pastel-painted port of A Guarda is Quinta de Couselo (quintacouselo.com), an elegant stone pazo watched over by a pair of parasol pines. These illustrate the labels of their plump, aromatic blends Quinta de Couselo and Turonia, where the angularity of Albariño is fleshed out by dollops of Loureira and Treixadura. As is typical in Rías Baixas, with rainfall double that of inland vineyards, vines here scramble high on pergolas suspended between chunky, head-high granite posts.

Albariño country

Then it’s a leisurely amble north, across the Vigo estuary with its countless mussel rafts, past Pontevedra (schedule a coffee stop in the old town) and west into the heart of Rías Baixas. Albariño rules here: today it represents 96% of all grapes harvested in the DO.

Yet total domination by this voguish grape was not always the case, explains Eugenio Zárate (zarate.es) of the eponymous bodega just south of Cambados, self-styled capital of Albariño. He recalls a time when the region’s everyday tipple was a pale, sharp red from tough local varieties Espadeiro, Caiño and Loureira tinto. Albariño was made only in tiny quantities and reserved for honoured guests and special occasions. For a crash course in this racy, zesty wine, start with the charming, entrylevel Albariño Zárate before graduating to the elegant complexity of single-vineyard El Palomar, grown on ungrafted centenarian vines trained in traditional style along pergolas.

Further south near Meaño is Paco & Lola (pacolola.com) a large, modern co-op that’s well set up for visitors. One of Galicia’s distinguishing features is the diminutive size of its vineyard plots, fragmented by multiple inheritances. Paco & Lola was founded in 2006 to assemble over 400 small producers, giving them the technological means to raise overall quality and the marketing pizzazz to sell large volumes of decent wine, principally Albariño – look out for the distinctive black-andwhite polka dot labels.

Wrap up your wine travels with a visit to Pazo Baión, (pazobaion.com) a pretty 30ha property half an hour from Santiago, whose origins go back to the 16th century. After a succession of owners, including most recently an Argentine drug baron operating off the coast of Galicia, it was bought at auction by the Condes de Albarei group. Of all the wineries visited, this is the most ambitious in terms of wine tourism, with guided visits to the vineyards and spanking-new cellars, culminating in a tasting of premium single-vineyard Albariños in the superb, architect-designed tasting room.

How to get there

You can fly from many European cities to Santiago de Compostela, then it’s a one-hour drive south to Ribeiro or less than one hour southwest to Rías Baixas. You can also fly to Porto in Portugal, where it’s a 1.5-hour drive north to A Guarda, in the south of Rías Baixas, or two hours to Ribeiro. Finally you could fly to A Coruña, north of Santiago, then it’s about a two-hour drive to Ribeiro or 1.5 hours to Rías Baixas.

For travel information on Galicia, visit spain.info

For detailed information on wine routes in Rías Baixas and Ribeiro, visit rutadelvinoriasbaixas.com and rutadelvinoribeiro.com

Written by Sue Style

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Home to Santiago de Compostela, this region offers wine lovers their own pilgrimage through Ribeiro and Rías Baixas, finds Sue Style. Read her Galicia travel guide here.

My perfect day in Galicia

Morning

Tear yourself away from the comfort of Hotel A Quinta da Auga in Santiago de Compostela for a day in Rías Baixas. Exit the Pontevedra motorway at Padrón and continue on the country road along the pretty Ría de Arousa to Vilagarcía. Visit the house and gardens of Pazo de Rubiánes, where more than 4,000 camellias bloom through Galicia’s mild winter. Enjoy a tasting at Pazo Señorans (pazodesenorans.com), a gorgeous property with a superb hórreo (granary), private chapel and cypress trees.

Lunch

Be sure to book a table at Restaurante Yayo Daporta in Cambados, for stunningly creative food by one of Galicia’s rising stars. Select your wine(s) from the walk-in, glass-walled, air-conditioned cellar in a corner of the dining room or take advice from Yayo’s sister on wine pairings for your menu.

Afternoon

Stroll through the picturesque old town of Cambados, with a look in on Palacio de Fefiñanes on the eponymous square. Then pay an afternoon visit to Zárate, a small and welcoming family-owned winery.

Evening and overnight

Check in at Quinta de San Amaro in Meaño in time for a glass of Albariño in the glassed-in hórreo, now a sitting room/library, followed by light supper from locally sourced ingredients in the luminous dining room.

Next page Previous page

Home to Santiago de Compostela, this region offers wine lovers their own pilgrimage through Ribeiro and Rías Baixas, finds Sue Style. Read her Galicia travel guide here.

Galicia: where to stay, eat, shop and relax

Hotels

A Quinta da Auga, Santiago de Compostela

Originally a paper mill, now a superb Relais & Châteaux, rescued and carefully restored by a local family, with in-house Filigrana restaurant for upscale Galician specialities. aquintadaauga.com

Casal de Armán, Ribadavia

Skilful transformation of a ruined 18th-century farmhouse into a super-comfortable rural retreat with six rooms, in-house restaurant and views out over vineyards and mossy church towers. The perfect base for Ribeiro explorations. casaldearman.net

Hotel Monasterio San Clodio, Leiro

A historic hotel with 25 rooms housed in a 12th-century Cistercian monastery, gloriously restored by the Galician government and operated by the Eurostars group. monasteriodesanclodio.com

Quinta de San Amaro, Meaño

Nacho and Julio, originally from Madrid, have conjured this delightful 14-room hostelry from a clutch of buildings dotted around the garden. quintadesanamaro.com

Restaurants

Nova, Ourense

Worth a detour for inspired modern Gallego cuisine from Daniel Guzmán and Julio Sotomayor, awarded their first Michelin star in 2014. novarestaurante.com

La Carpinteria, Leiro

Great tapas and prime Gallego beef in a former carpenter’s workshop – a hot tip from Ribeiro winemakers whose bottles feature at the entrance. Tel +34 988 036 084

Yayo Daporta, Cambados

Chic little eatery in Cambados the old town for star-struck cooking by chef Yayo (of Top Chef TV fame) with sympathetic service and sage wine advice by his sister. yayodaporta.com

Enoteca Ribeira de Fefiñans, Cambados

Wine bar and shop on the seafront with tasty tapas and raciones, a good range of wines by the glass and excellent sommelier-led advice. ribeiradefefinans.com

O Muiño da Chanca, Dena

Empanadas, spanking-fresh scallops and cockles straight from the estuary and grilled meats in this restored 18th-century mill between Cambados and O Grove. muinodachanca.com

Abastos 2.0, Santiago de Compostela

For €21 (€30 with three glasses of wine) you get five different tapas in the Abastos tavern beside the market. Across the street in the restaurant there’s a full menu or (Thursdays only) upmarket burgers from juicy Gallego beef. abastosdouspuntocero.es

Shops

Pazo de Rubiánes, Vilagarcía de Arousa

Classic Galician manor house with botanical garden, arboretum, camellia collection and its own vineyard. pazoderubianes.com

Festa do Albariño, Cambados

Originated by the Zárate family in 1953 and held on the first Sunday in August ever since, this great street party – in honour of the celebrated Rías Baixas’ grape – draws crowds from far and wide. 2 August 2015

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Ribera del Duero's ruling council has launched a bid to permit the production of white wine in the Spanish DO wine region.

Harvest in Ribera del Duero. Image credit: Cesar Manso / AFP / Getty

Ribera del Duero DO is famous for its red wine production of Tempranillo grapes, but existing rules do not allow white wines to have DO status.

‘It is about opening new opportunities and options for producers,’ said Enrique Pascual, chairman of the Ribera del Duero regulatory council.

‘Our proposal contemplates allowing the production of white wine under DO label. The varieties of white grapes would be the same ones currently permitted in Castilla y Leon,’ he told Decanter.com.

White wine production in Ribera del Duero is limited to Castilla y Leon IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) and it accounts for less than 3% of the region’s wine production.

Under the new proposal, a wide range of varieties would be authorised for production with DO status, including Albillo, Pirules, Malvaisa, Viura, Verdejo, Albariño, Hondarrabi Zuri, Palomino, Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Treixadura and Viognier.

Pascual denied that the proposal had come about as a consequence of the limited production space available in the neighbouring Rueda DO wine region. He added that the proposal had emerged as result of conversation with local producers.

While many producers in Ribera del Duero have backed the proposals, some have voiced concerns over allowing for the production for such a wide range of white varieties. Pascual said a draft of the proposal had been submitted to vineyards and would require government and European Union approval.

Related Content:

• Antonio Banderas launches Ribera wine
• Ribera del Duero 2010: panel tasting results

Written by Barnaby Eales

The winemaker niece of respected Spanish producer Raul Perez has died after falling into a vat of wine.

Emergency services at the scene of the accident. Image Credit: InfoBierzo

Nerea Perez is believed to have fallen into the vat after being affected by fumes while working in a cellar in the village of Salas de los Barrios in the El Bierzo region of north west Spain, according to Spanish media, which first reported her death this week.

It is thought that Perez, 25, suffocated in the vat itself after falling in. Emergency services were unable to revive her after arriving at the scene, according to local publication InfoBierzo.

The news has prompted an outpouring of grief on social media, including those connected to the Spain’s network for young socialists. Perez was the secretary of the Young Socialists of El Bierzo group.

Raul Perez, the uncle of Nerea Perez, is a widely respected producer among Spanish wine experts. Grape varieties that he works with include Albarino, Mencia, Bastardo and Godello. He could not be immediately contacted following the accident.

Written by Chris Mercer

The Albariño of Spain’s Rías Baixas was once a wine to drink young, but now it will last for a decade. What changed, asks Margaret Rand?

There is something slightly perverse, one might think, in abandoning a whole range of grape varieties to concentrate on just one – and then focusing on ways of giving that one grape a variety of flavours. But that’s markets for you. if Albariño is what sells, Albariño is what growers will grow, and Loureiro, Treixadura, Caíño Blanco and the rest – not to mention the still more obscure red varieties – must sit at the back and not complain. Albariño is fortunate to have won: left to themselves, the growers of Rías Baixas might well prefer to grow hybrids.

Hybrids, actually, are probably the best adapted to the local weather. in nearby santiago de Compostela, they tell you, it either has rained, is about to rain, or is raining. ‘in 1896, mildew killed 99% of the vines here,’ says Eulogio Pomares Zarate, owner of Zarate. ‘The vineyard went from 25,000 hectares to 250ha. We didn’t start using copper sulphate against mildew until the 1920s. Phylloxera couldn’t survive in our acidic, sandy soils, but we had 25 years of mildew.’ hybrids are tougher when it comes to mildew; some 3-4 million litres of hybrid red are grown every year, he says, but it doesn’t get bottled.

What does get bottled is Albariño. spain is mad for Albariño. And spain is right: it tastes of salt and ripe citrus with a touch of apricot. it’s aromatic and mineral, structured and creamy, long and long- lived. The best wines can live – and improve – for 10 years and taste tight, mineral and honeyed at the end of it. it’s like grown-up Viognier with acidity and without the blowsiness. Twenty years ago it was regarded as a wine to drink young and without too much thought; now it’s at a very different level. What happened?

A damp landscape

Rías Baixas is right on the Atlantic, tucked in over the bit of Portugal that makes Vinho Verde, where Albariño becomes Alvarinho. The land looks exactly the same both sides of the border: it’s a granite landscape, all pine and heath, morning glory and blue hydrangeas, and eucalyptus groves that fade to a ghostly grey behind the frequent curtains of rain. The rain is sudden and local, and clears as quickly as it starts. smallholders grow their vines on high pergolas over cabbages, just as they do in Portugal: the pergolas give enormous crops but have the virtue of keeping the grapes well away from the damp ground.

Large crops used to be considered a good thing, when the wine was light and for early drinking. Now training on wires is an alternative, but wires are certainly not driving the pergolas out. You get one gramme per litre less acidity with wires, reckons Emilio Rodriguez, technical director of Terras gauda, and half a per cent more alcohol, because the grapes get more sun and more ventilation: ‘it’s a lower crop, but better quality.’ But he also says that finding differences of aroma and flavour between the two training methods is more difficult. ‘The most important thing is that in a complicated vintage with poor ripening, you get better results with vines trained on wires,’ he says.

This evening-out of vintage variation in an erratic climate, by bringing the worst years up to the level of better ones, is one of the achievements of better viticulture here. Climate change has helped, too: all the growers are very pleased with climate change. ‘Twenty-five years ago,’ says Christina Mantilla, winemaker at Pazo San Mauro, ‘we were getting wines with 10% alcohol and 12g of acidity. Now we’re getting 12% alcohol and 9-10g of acidity. We love climate change. But it’s better viticulture and winemaking too, and greater vine age.’ ‘It used to rain all summer,’ agrees winemaker Javier Peláez of Marqués de Vizhoja. ‘It used to be almost impossible to get grapes to ripeness, they were so acidic. Now we have to pick earlier. Drought used to be unheard of, but now it can happen.’

Regional differences

The Rías Baixas DO was established in 1988. It’s divided into five areas: the Salnes Valley, which is effectively entirely Albariño; O Rosal, Soutomaior, Ribeira do Ulla and Condado do Tea, where you might find small percentages of Treixadura, Loureiro, Caíño Blanco and others in the blend. But everywhere, if it says Albariño on the label, it must be 100% Albariño. So naturally you want to make your Albariño different from everyone else’s.

The regions have their differences. Condado do Tea is the warmest and driest region, and gives slightly riper grapes with slightly less malic acid. The average temperature over the year is 15oC in Rosal, whereas in the Salnes Valley it’s 14.2oC. Rainfall is pretty much the same in all, at 1,600– 1,800mm per year. Some vineyards are more inland than others, but the real differences are those of latitude: the Salnes Valley is the northerly limit for ripening. This is where you find the real acidity. Condado do Tea is in the south, on the Portuguese border, and if you listen closely I swear you’ll hear them pronounce Albariño as Alvarinho.

The differences in climate may seem small, but they have implications for winemaking, and for flavour. The cooler your site, or the year, the higher your acidity will be, and the more likely you’ll be to consider doing a bit of malolactic fermentation to soften it. But not too much: everybody wants purity and minerality in their wines, and most don’t want too much of the buttery, lactic notes that come with the malolactic. So they may only do it in certain years, or for a small percentage of the blend. There are more ingenious ways of lowering acidity: cold stablisation will bring it down by about one gramme per litre. (Some producers still add shellfish shells to the soil, to raise the pH, which is very low here, at around five. Adding oyster or clam or mussel shells – which are in abundance, since farming them is big business in the rías, the steep-sided fjords that give the region its name – can raise it to eight or nine. That in itself won’t affect the acidity of the wine, but it will certainly increase the ability of the vine to take nutrients from the soil.) Skin contact – a ‘cold soak’ for several hours before pressing – will edge the acidity down by another gramme or more, while giving you greater aromas.

Divergent styles

Wine styles diverge in other ways, too, encouraged by greater ripeness. You can opt for unadorned austerity: just the wine, with nothing fancy. ‘I stopped skin maceration in 2000,’ says Eulogio Pomares Zarate. ‘I want terroir expression, not extra power and exuberance.’ Palacio de Fefinanes abjures skin contact because it doesn’t want the tannins that go with it; nor does it want the extra aromas. You can have some wood ageing, which doesn’t sound like a great idea for an aromatic, mineral grape. Or you can go for long lees ageing, with or without lees-stirring. You can also make it sparkling, though it looks as though other grapes do this better. You can even try making it sweet, though you won’t get the DO for that. The main choice seems to be oak or lees ageing; and oak-aged Albariño has a limited market. A few restaurants like it because they think it offers more food-matching potential, but most Spaniards prefer it unoaked; or so I’m told.

Yet it’s far from being a revolutionary idea. ‘Until the DO started, all Albariño in Rías Baixas was made in wood,’ says Eulogio Pomares Zarate. ‘I’ve still got some 550-litre chestnut barrels here, though I stopped using wood in 1999. The wine used to be fuller-bodied with more colour, and there was more skin maceration. Old chestnut barrels were the usual thing.’ Now it’s more likely to be French or even American oak. Agro de Bazan’s Limousin cuvée (the oak these days is actually Alliers, says export manager Jesus Alvarez) uses two-year-old, 500-litre barrels, which is not very frightening; Palacio de Fefinanes’ 1583 is fermented in oak and does the malo in oak, some of which is new, and about 10% of which is American. The former wine gains muscularity but no oak flavour; the latter is distinctly oaky, and more square in shape in the mouth.

Personally, I don’t go so much for the oaked wines. But long lees ageing can be interesting; and ‘long’ can be three months, or 30. Pazo Baion’s standard 2012 has four months’ battonage; its 2006 Condes de Alberei had three years on the lees, and was bottled unfiltered. The first is structured, deep and precise; the second is all buttered tangerines and silk, very complex. An extra six years makes a difference, too, of course, but long lees ageing increases a wine’s longevity in a way that oak ageing does not. It keeps it fresher for longer, and enables a slow development of complexity. And now that Albariño sees itself as a serious wine, longevity is important.

A top Albariño will improve for a decade. To keep it longer than that is probably pushing it, though as knowledge of specific sites increases, so will the number of exceptional wines. Jesus Alvarez of Agro de Bazan suggests 18 months after the harvest is the ideal age to start drinking it, and it doesn’t seem to go through a closed phase. Not that perverse, then.

Written by Margaret Rand

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The Albariño of Spain’s Rías Baixas was once a wine to drink young, but now it will last for a decade. What changed, asks Margaret Rand?

5 great buys from Rías Baixas

Bodegas Zarate, El Palomar Albariño 2012

18.5/20pts (95/100pts)

Named after the dovecote in the vineyard, this was almost overbearing in its early youth but is settling down now. It’s fermented in a big old vat but there’s no oak flavour. Lots of structure and concentration. A searching wine, precise and detailed, with complexity.

Price: £23.10 Indigo Wines

Drink 2014-2020

Alc 12.5%

Terras Gauda, La Mar Caíño Blanco 2011

18.5/20pts (95/100pts)

No, not Albariño this one; instead one of the region’s rarer grape varieties. This is concentrated and muscular, with a touch of tannin, and huge character. A big, tight, salty, mineral wine.

Price: £27-£30 Harvey Nichols, Joseph Barnes, Les Caves de Pyrène

Drink 2014-2020

Alc 12.7%

Bodegas del Palacio de Fefiñanes, Albariño 2013

17.5/20pts (91/100pts)

Good ripe citrus fruit and no creaminess from malolactic. Pure, precise, nice weight, lovely elastic texture, salty, aromatic fruit, and plenty of character. Very expressive and graceful.

Price: £14.95-£17.99 Lupe Pinto, Martinez Fine Wines, The Wine Society, Waitrose

Drink 2014-2019

Alc 12.5%

Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2012

17.5/20pts (91/100pts)

Very salty and tight, lovely texture, very fine and elegant with good structure; pure, long, with a typical bitter edge to the finish which adds bite.

Price: £11.95 The Wine Reserve

Drink 2014-2018

Alc 12.5%

Coto Redondo, Señorio de Rubios Albariño 2012

17/20pts (90/100pts)

Salty and mineral nose and palate with very pure, ripe and aromatic fruit. Lovely balance and texture, and again, that nice bitter bite at the end.

Price: £10.75 Yorkshire Vintners

Drink 2014-2018

Alc 12.5%

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This year's winner of the Decanter World Wine Awards International Trophy for the Best in Show White Single-Varietal Over £15 went to Ángel Sequeiros, Albariño Foudre, Rías Baixas 2010, Spain.

Angel Sequeiros, Albariño Foudre, Rías Baixas, Spain 2010 (13.5%)

Fresh, elegant nose of nutty apple and peach, with elderflower aromas. Complexity and natural sweetness on a juicy palate. A classic.

Not available in the UK

Tasted against • Lunae, Colli di Luni, Italy 2012 • Dobogó, Furmint, Tokaj-Hegyalja, Hungary 2011 • Cantine di Marzo, Scipio, Greco di Tufo, Southern Italy 2011 • Gaia, Wild Ferment Assyrtiko, Santorini, Greece 2012 • Château de Jurque, Emotion, Jurançon Sec, Southwest France 2011 • Leth, Grüner Veltliner Scheiben 1 QWT, Wagram, Niederösterreich, Austria 2011 • Yalumba, The Virgilius Viognier, Eden Valley, South Australia 2010

A hotly contested category, there were many different grape varieties vying for this prize but for the second consecutive year Albariño has claimed the title. Last year was a proud moment for Portugal, with its first International Trophy for a white wine (there called Alvarinho), and this year it is Spain’s turn to celebrate.

Albariño is the grape that gave its name to Galicia’s most famous wine, characterised by its freshness and fruit. These used to be good wines, only just short of great, but Angel Sequeiros, following the trend started by Marisol Bueno from Pazo de Señorans, decided to aim even higher, seeking extra complexity by keeping it in contact with the lees for a long time after fermentation.

Albariño does not improve with oak ageing – the spicy aromas of oak tend to hide the grape’s delicate floral and peachy notes – but lees-stirring gives a bit of natural aeration. The answer in this wine was to do the 11 months of ageing and stirring in one 5,000-litre oak foudre.

This is probably the best style for top-quality Albariño: with very discreet oak influence, the wine develops its aromas, and shows balance and length. It’s a new dimension for Albariño lovers, and a wine that can improve over four years and keep for another four.

Grapes for this Trophy winner come from a 7.4ha vineyard, with vines planted between 45 and 90 years ago at the heart of Condado, one of the top sub-regions in Rias Baixas. Pedro

Ballesteros Torres MW

Written by Decanter

The vibrant heart of California winemaking lies in the marginal varietals like Grenache, Albariño – and Chardonnay.

Albariño: ‘thriving”

Writing in the June issue of Decanter magazine, US wine critic Jon Bonné says the ‘real momentum’ in California comes from smaller wineries.

‘The state’s established labels (often now owned by corporate interests) aren’t going anywhere’, he says.

Bonné, wine critic at the San Francisco Chronicle, says there is a ‘major change afoot in California, with new and more subtle styles of wine, typically made by small producers and younger winemakers, frequently after time spent apprenticing in Europe.’

These new producers are working with Grenache – ‘suddenly a serious contender’, Carignan – ‘an affordable staple’, Albariño – ‘actually thrives here’, Marsanne/Roussanne – ‘an opulent alternative to Chardonnay’, and other more esoteric varieties.

Bonné also makes the case for a Chardonnay revival, which has suffered over the years ‘amid oceans of godawful winemaking’.

‘There is a beautiful new diversity of Chardonnay styles emerging, with generally lower alcohols and far more nuance.’

At the same time, grapes that seemed once to be the new hope for California are becoming stagnant…

The future of Syrah, Bonné says, is in doubt, as is that of Viognier, ‘once considered the next Chardonnay’. Zinfandel and Pinot come in for criticism, the former suffering from ‘too much cheap oak and high alcohol levels’, the latter ‘ill-defined’.

The result is a classic conflict, the old guard ‘colliding’ with the innovators. California, the writer concludes, ‘is at a crossroads’.

The June issue of Decanter magazine is out now

Written by Adam Lechmere

Albariño is the mainstay of quality wines produced in Spain's Rías Baíxas and Portugal's Vinho Verde. KITTY JOHNSON profiles a variety that loves rainy days and wet weekends.

If I went to live in Galicia, the first thing I’d do besides eating fresh fish every day would be to open an umbrella shop at Santiago de Compostela airport. In Spain’s rainiest region, this could be a real money-spinner and I happen to know there isn’t one there already. Albarino grape growers and winemakers in this northwest coastal corner of the country have also found a way to profit from the 1.5–2m of rain the region sees on average every year – they plant a variety that positively thrives in it.

The origins of the Albariño grape, or Alvarinho as it’s called across the Portuguese frontier where it makes single-varietal versions of tongue-prickling Vinho Verde, are shrouded in mythology. Whether it is indigenous to Galicia, was brought from France by Raimond of Burgundy in the 11th century, or introduced by Cluny monks in the 12th, is unknown. What is certain, however, is that it has found a site it really likes, separated from the rest of Spain and surrounded by sea and mountains, in the warm and wet DO Rias Baixas (pronounced ‘ree-as by-shuss’).

• Wine Travel – Portugal Road Trip

Albariño Viticulture

It’s a viticultural area that has had to expand in response to demand and a fourth sub-region was added to the group in 1996. The terrain shifts from flat lands in the cooler north at Val do Salnes and hilly terraces in the west at O Rosal, to the more mountainous Condado do Tea in the east and the hilly, new addition, Soutomaior. The gradient of the slopes affects the choice of planting system, although the majority of producers use the traditional pergola technique. Chosen for the beneficial shading it offers the grapes during periods when the clouds part, the system is now losing ground, especially in Condado de Tea, to the alternative, silvo (a variant of the Geneva double-curtain system). Denser planting is possible with this method, as is the increasingly popular option of mechanical harvesting. Either way, with buckets of rain around each year, the grapes are kept off the ground to reduce the risk of rot. The grape’s thick yellowish-green skin also provides an effective raincoat.

Under these conditions, the Albariño prospers, bringing in permitted yields of 71.5 hectolitres per hectare (roughly twice the national average for other varieties). For a thick-skinned, many-pipped berry that doesn’t produce a huge amount of juice, a high volume of grapes is vital to keep up with demand. Vintage variations are inevitable and while 1999 was a bumper crop, 2000 saw a drastic drop in grapes harvested of between 40 and 50%.The best examples are 100% of the variety but each region permits blends using varying percentages of all or some of the region’s lesser-known and lesser quality choices: Loureiro, Treixadura, Torrontés and Caiño Blanco. These guys are not key players, but between them they add up to little more than 5% of total plantings in the DO. Whether it’s part of a blend or a single varietal sample, the proud Galicians don’t like to part with too much of their cherished Albariño. Around half of the wine produced is kept for home consumption (the lucky locals use it to wash down their limitless supply of freshly caught fish), but happily exports are on the up, with the UK, US and Germany showing most interest.The wines are aromatic and often slightly spicy with appley, peachy flavours and mouth-watering acidity. They can be either floral and citrussy or apricoty, richer and more honeyed. To extract more colour and flavour from the grapes, some winemakers swear by skin contact before fermentation. Others find the extra richness comes from lees contact afterwards.

In general, with exports on the increase there’s a growing desire to vinify using oak. Most producers now make a barrel-fermented and/or matured alternative, which spends up to six months (but typically only three or four) in new American or French oak casks. Many of the wines made by this technique suggest that this kind of oak ageing, especially in American wood, is a mistake. The grape’s glory is in its unique, delicately aromatic, varietal characteristics, most of which are lost by a hefty helping of vanilla from the oak. What is more surprising in a wine that has been made and marketed for knocking back with the local fresh fish and seafood is its propensity for ageing, a characteristic that can be attributed to the wine’s naturally high acidity. This enables it to maintain fruity freshness while it develops a golden colour and richer flavour. A line-up of the last five vintages from producer Palacio de Fefinañes in Cambados demonstrated the concentration of flavours that can develop with time in the bottle. The wines transformed from delicate, floral, aromatic and grapey to honeyed, spicy, apricoty and even slightly smokey.

A similar intensity can also be achieved by leaving the wine on lees in the tank for longer. At Pazo de Señorans, the president of the Consejo Regulador of Rias Baixas, Marisol Bueno, produces a special selection (Seleccion de Añada Blanco) wine that is held in tank for anything up to three years. Using carefully chosen grapes from the vintage, the result is a delicious, fruity, smokily spiced, mature Riesling-style mouthful. Albariño’s Spanish roots are acknowledged by the Portuguese who, in Ponte de Lima county, refer to the grape as Galego (after the local dialect of Galicia). Nevertheless, it has secured a place in northwest Portugal, where from Monção and the newer sub-region of Melgaço come fruitier, more alcoholic (13% rather than 9–10%) and age-worthy versions of the often criticised, spritzy ‘green wine’ Vinho Verde. At around 40 hectolitres per hectare its yields are considerably lower than in Spain, probably due to less rain and the use of a different clone. With a recommended three-year optimum drinking period, it is often heralded as Portugal’s most serious white wine.

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Albariño Future

So what does the future hold for this rain-loving wonder grape? Although both Spanish and Portuguese plantings and global interest is increasing, Albariño is pricey and its wines are still fairly exclusive. The Burgundian-style feudal system of land ownership in Galicia means it’s hard for the smaller growers or producers to think too big, but no doubt winemakers will continue to follow trends and experiment with different approaches to vinification. The biggest exporter, Martín Códax, even tried a late-harvest version in 1996, when weather conditions permitted it. On balance, producers should focus instead on the winning formula of lees ageing to create an added richness while respecting the grape’s varietal distinction. And if you’ve got a recent vintage bottle at home, keep your hands off it. Find a good spot for it in the cellar and come back to it in a year or two. Chances are your patience will be rewarded.

Albariño Characteristics

It likes high-acid, granitic and sandy soils – and lots of rain. Its thick-skinned, yellowish-green berries ripen early.

In Spain

Grown in Galicia in northwest Spain, its flavours range from floral, aromatic, citrus and peach to richer honey, spice and apricot.

Portugal

Grown in the Minho in north-western Portugal, its flavours are more green apple and citrus.