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
Mar de Frades, Albariño, Rías Baixas, Spain, 2015
95
Winemaker Paula Fandiño is a native Galician who has always worked in the region, and with white wines. She joined Mar de Frades (owned by Rioja’s Ramón Bilbao) in 2007 and works with 150 growers in the Val do Salnés area. With its distinctive blue bottle, the popular packaging has become better known than the liquid inside. However since 2009 Fandiño has been researching batonnage, barrel ageing and single vineyards, all of this informing the mainstream wine. PBT: "Fine aromas of citrus and grass, very delicate. Fresh and so typical, this is textbook Albariño." SJE: "Elegant, pure and salty. Aromatic and fine, with generous, juicy white fruit, lovely balance and approachability." PM: "Appealingly floral, honeyed nose, white peaches. Full, very fresh, fine, salty, stony appeal. Textured finish with grapefruit lift."
2015
Mar de Frades
Pazo Señorans, Selección de Añada, Rías Baixas, Spain, 2008
95
<p>Soledad (Marisol) Bueno is as iconic in Rías Baixas as her wine. She has been a driving force behind the DO from the beginning and also owns one of the loveliest of the region’s estates. And working with her winemaker Ana Quintela, who has been with the winery almost since the beginning, she has seen the wine become a Spanish classic. It spends at least 30 months on lees, and more in the bottle, which gives it an exceptional richness and delicacy.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW </strong></em><br /> Complex, with nice lees complexity and a lovely long fruit expression. Unique, classy, and just great!<br /> <br /> <em><strong>Sarah Jane Evans MW</strong></em><br /> Attractive, peachy nose with biscuit aromas. Very pure, and surprisingly fresh and lifted for its age. Softly textured, intense, layered with flavour that persists on the finish. Real drive and complexity here.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>Pierre Mansour</strong> </em><br /> Subtle, smoky, refined herbal nose. Ripe apple fruit, lemon curd and marmalade. Gradually grows on you. So unlike the other wines. Silky, persistent palate; really very ripe, with succulent apricots.</p>
2008
Pazo Señorans
Maior de Mendoza, 3 Crianzas, Rías Baixas, Spain, 2012
93
<span style="color: rgb(51,51,51);background-color: rgb(255,255,255);font-size: 14px;font-family: Cormorant, serif;">Individual judges’ scores: Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW 93 Sarah Jane Evans MW 93 Pierre Mansour 92<br><br>A vivid, youthful style, full of energy despite a few years of age. Aromatic nose with a flinty freshness and a creamy, biscuity palate. This displays a huge lift of acidity and intense flavour, and is very long and very impressive.</span>
2012
Maior de Mendoza
Valmiñor, O Rosal, Rías Baixas, Spain, 2015
92
<p>Gloriously aromatic with jasmine and flint notes; very scented. Full and fleshy palate with a mineral follow-through and an intense, harmonious finish. A very lovely Albariño that is so pure.</p>
2015
Valmiñor
Gran Vinum, Esencia Diviña, Rías Baixas, Spain, 2015
91
<p>Intense, citrus fruit nose with white peach and grass tones. Rich and suave palate, attractively poised with medium length and zingy acidity. Racy in style with a good, solid structure.</p>
2015
Gran Vinum
Quinta de Couselo, Selección, Rías Baixas, Spain, 2011
91
<p>Perfumed nose with hints of nuts and yeast and a slightly evolved fruit character. Powerful on the palate, which is full-bodied with honeyed notes. Tangy acidity follows through to a long, persistent finish. Genuine class.</p>
2011
Quinta de Couselo
Tricó, Albariño, Rías Baixas, Spain, 2012
91
<p>Complex nose of mineral and cream with a palate that opens with an explosion of fruit and crisp, driving acidity. It then becomes steely, but this is balanced by a lick of lemon curd running through. Long and intense.</p>
2012
Tricó
Angel Sequeiros, Foudre, Rías Baixas, Spain, 2011
90
<p>Creamy, spicy nose with a hint of lees and biscuit. It is discreetly enhanced by oak, bringing it quite a layered feel. Developed flavours of lemon curd and citric acidity leave behind a long, open finish. A complete wine.</p>
2011
Angel Sequeiros
Laureatus, Val do Salnés, Rías Baixas, Spain, 2014
90
Grass, lemon and orange peel nose with a hint of asparagus. Creamy texture with pure fruit flavours and deliciously balanced with just a tough of honey. Broad yet crisp, and enticingly fruit; a pleasure!
2014
Laureatus
Paco & Lola, Val do Salnés, Rías Baixas, Spain, 2015
90
<p>Ripe apricot and citrus aromas on the nose, full of stone fruit typicity. The palate has a delicate spritz, which lifts the wine, making it fresh and lively. Has lovely acidity and balance, with a mouthwatering, moreish finish.</p>
2015
Paco & Lola
Bodegas Terras Gauda, O Rosal, Rías Baixas, Spain, 2015
90
<p>Delicate, attractive nose with floral and citrus expressions. Powerful palate with a punch of lemon curd acidity and pristine fruit, leading to a crisp finish. Very appetising and mouthwatering.</p>
2015
Bodegas Terras Gauda
Albamar, Pepe Luis, Rías Baixas, Spain, 2014
89
Dried apricot and spice nose with a punchy palate. Vibrant and refreshing with a blast of citrus acidity. Finishes on tropical fruit flavours.
2014
Albamar
Albamar, Val do Salnés, Rías Baixas, Spain, 2014
89
Restrained nose showing a hint of lees contact. Lively, vivid palate, with zest of limes and pomelos. It has a creamy underlay and a long, bright finish.
2014
Albamar
Angel Sequeiros, Evoé, Rías Baixas, Spain, 2013
89
Opens with parsimony and good style, showing peachy and citrus aromas. Racy palate carries the oak well, giving it complexity and a persistent finish.
2013
Angel Sequeiros
Lagar De Bouza, Rías Baixas, Spain, 2015
89
Refined and flinty with hints of hay; very original. White peach palate with a great structure and balanced acidity; elegant on the whole with a refreshing finish.
2015
Lagar De Bouza
Lolo, Rías Baixas, Spain, 2015
89
Hints of brioche on nose with ripe citrus fruit flavours and aromas. Tangy palate, which is crisp and dry, with a mouth-watering finish; revitalising.
2015
Lolo