What do you think of when you think of Albariño? An aromatic, engaging white variety with beautiful peach, apricot, citrus and floral aromas? Or a simple, boring white wine from north-western Spain? Either way, your opinion will be formed by the examples of Albariño that you’ve tried, which can vary significantly. At the bottom of this article will be tasting notes what I consider to be the 4 best Albariño wines in the market today, collated over three years of tasting wine made from this wonderful grape. First, some context…
Despite the fact that Spain is predominantly a red wine producing country, the reputation of its white wines has steadily grown over the last two decades. Producers like Lopez de Heredia in Rioja have a cult following around the world, more for their oxidative white wines than their superb reds, Xarel.lo has staked its claim as the Catalan white grape variety to be excited about and indigenous white varieties from Galicia to Andalucia are slowly gaining traction and recognition. The two most well known varieties from the country must certainly be Verdejo, mainly from Rueda, and Albariño, predominantly from Rias Baixas in Galicia. I’ve always been an Albariño fan, with the crisp, refreshing nature of the wine and the engaging, aromatic nature of the grape making it very easy to like. The best wines go a step above this and start to show remarkable texture, persistence and mouth-watering, precise acidity. A trip early in my wine studies to Rias Baixas confirmed this and since then, it’s a rare month indeed where a bottle or two doesn’t make it into my glass.
However, it wasn’t always such a vibrant industry and Albariño had a bit of a revolutionary moment around the late 90s when it was suddenly ‘discovered’ by the rest of the world, particularly the American market. A big part of this was due to the same changes that were ongoing around much of the vinous world; changes in our understanding of viticulture, adopting modern wine-making equipment to help combat oxidation, gentler handling of the grapes and the juice and a growing market, looking for distinctive, ambitious wines. From a commercial point of view, Albariño thrived and there were even reports of more Albariño being sold than could potentially be grown within Galicia, which is the sort of thing that happens more often than you might think in the wine industry!
The disadvantage of this, as is so often the case, is that quality and individuality suffers. If every wine is made from high yielding vines to satisfy global demand, protected completely from oxidation throughout and fermented at very cool temperatures before sterile filtration and bottling, you’re going to end up with an awful lot of generic Albariño. Unfortunately, this proved by the case and increasingly I started to meet people who found Albariño to be boring, dilute and often a little screechy as there simply wasn’t enough fruit concentration to match the naturally high levels of acidity. Whilst there is still a lot of basic Albariño out there, there are some superb examples as well, using a variety of different wine-making techniques and hailing from various sub-zones of DO Rias Baixas. The examples below are going to focus on Spanish Albariño as whilst I have found some interesting examples from Portugal, I’ve yet to find one that can match the best of Spain.
At the bottom of this article are tasting notes for the 4 best Albariño wines I’ve tried over the last few years. They’re all quite different from one another and employ very different wine-making techniques, yet their quality is undeniable. However, before we go onto the tasting notes I’d like to quickly look at some of the variables in growing and producing Albariño.
The Grape: Let’s start by defining Albariño. It’s a white, aromatic variety predominantly grown in northern Spain and Portugal and produced as a white, dry wine. Most of it tends to end up as a mono-varietal wine, but it’s not uncommon to see it blended with Loureiro, Treixadura or Caíño Blanco, particularly further inland in Galicia and certainly more commonly in Portugal. It has thick skins which help it to weather the wet, humid conditions and which are also packed with flavour compounds and phenols. This can lead Albariño to occasionally have an element of bitterness on the palate, particularly in wines that haven’t been handled gently enough. When ripe, Albariño tends towards aromas and flavours of ripe stone fruits, lemon, lime, white flowers and occasionally a note of honey. Acidity levels are naturally high and alcohol rarely exceeds 13.5% ABV.
Yields: Despite various claims that Albariño is a crossing or descendant of Riesling in some way (it almost definitely isn’t), Albariño does not share the same blessing of producing high quality grapes in large quantities. Vinho Verde in Portugal is often made by high-yielding vines, finishing alcohol fermentation at around 9% ABV and chapitalised heavily, slightly carbonated and sold for very low prices. This is not the sort of wine that Rias Baixas is famous for, nor one that I think is likely to make their fortune.
The better sites in Rias Baixas producing full ripe, Albariño grapes typically yield between 40-50HL per hectare of land, which is comparable to most of the more acclaimed appellations of Europe. That’s around 6,500 bottles per hectare of land, assuming perfect weather conditions for the year.
Viticulture: Traditional viticulture for Albariño was historically similar to that of southern Italy; pergola systems, with the vines trained up granite pillars and across a wooden lattice, around 2-2.5m above the ground. Whilst this helps air flow and ensures that the grapes have maximum exposure to sunshine, it’s an absolute nightmare when it comes to the harvest; it’s not uncommon to see workers standing on top of grape-boxes, picking at arms length over-head! For commercial reasons, many of these vineyards are now being retrained into more traditional systems, although the pergola systems do still exist. Needless to say, harvests are manual.
It’s also worth pointing out that whilst our figures above account for a good harvest, issues with rot and fungi are rampant in Rias Baixas. Being the closest region to the cold Atlantic Ocean, yet subject to thousands of hours of sunshine a year is a recipe for disaster, if your vineyard is too tightly packed, trained in the wrong way or not well taken care of. As a result, costs are high and organic/biodynamic viticulture is still quite rare here.
Wine-making: This is where a lot of producers start to really change the style of Albariño they’re going to be making. Whilst this isn’t an exhaustive list by any means, it showcases the main options available to wine-makers and gives a clue as to the growing diversity of style in Albariño wines.
Cold-soaking: Better quality Albariño is commonly subjected to a period of time in contact with the grape skins before fermentation, often for as much as 24 hours. This helps to extract more of the natural flavour compounds in their thick skins, yet it’s also how bitterness is unintentionally extracted as well. Most large, commercial operations (of which is has to be said, there are few in Rias Baixas) will skip this stage, rather than risk the bitterness associated with polyphenol extraction.
Ambient Yeasts: This isn’t so much of a quality issue as a stylistic and personal one. During the 90’s and early 2000’s, a lot of Albariño was made using cultured yeasts designed to promote excessive floral and tropical aromas, to make the wine more commercially obvious and attractive. Whilst this is certainly not true for every winemaker using a cultured yeast strain, many of the most interesting and quality focused producers in Rias Baixas are using ambient yeasts instead, as part of a world-wide trend to try and give a sense of place to their wines.
Malolactic Conversion: The conversion of malic acids into lactic acids isn’t a common choice for aromatic grape varieties, as the toasted, sometimes buttery side-effects often vie for attention with the aromas of the grape variety itself. As Albariño has such a high level of natural acidity, many wine-makers choose full or partial conversion to extend the biological stability and ageing potential of these wines, sacrificing the extremely tangy, Atlantic freshness as part of the deal. This, along with lees ageing accounts for some of the surprising ageing ability of Albariño wines, with many showing particularly well at 10 years of age!
Oak: Whether it’s used for barrel fermentation and/or ageing, the use of oak with Albariño is a contentious one. I’ve tried very few convincing examples, as the use has to be so softly applied, otherwise the delicate, floral aromas of Albariño are completely lost. Old oak is starting to be considered as a viable option, and one example listed below is quite superb, utilising large, chestnut barrels to wonderful effect.
Lees ageing: One of the most common wine-making techniques used in the production of high quality Albariño wines is leaving the wine to sit on its lees after fermentation. This adds extra texture and aromas as the yeast breaks down through the process of autolysis, yet usually in a less dominating manner than oak fermentation and ageing. Nearly all the best Albariño wines I’ve tried have had some time spent on the lees, sometimes up to as much as 2 years! I believe this is a key reason for the ageing ability of some Albariño wines as well. A good example of this is Agega Pazo Señorans Selección Añada, aged for 30 months in its lees and incredibly youthful after even 10 years. The 2007 I tried last year was positively singing and could have aged for another 5-6 years quite happily!
Whilst there are always other factors that account for a style of wine, I think these are the most important for Albariño. The mainstay of production is based in Spain and Portugal, yet Albariño is becoming increasingly popular around the world. I’ve read reports of Albariño being considered as the most promising aromatic variety in New Zealand, it’s generated excitement in Oregon and I believe I’ve even seen it planted in the UK. Well, we’ll see how it travels in some time, particularly as vines in other parts of the world gain age, but for now I consider the following 4 wines to be the best examples of Albariño currently available, in a variety of different styles:
Raul Perez ‘Sketch’ 2013
100% Albariño from vineyards overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, 50 year old vines and harvested 2 weeks later than usual. Fermented with ambient yeasts and aged in 750L, old French oak barrels for 1 year. 13.5% ABV
I’ve been drinking this wine for a few years now, and whilst it’s expensive I never get over quite how lovely it is. Aromas of orange pith, peach skin, wild white flowers and honey drift out of the glass, underpinned by a salty, mineral sensation. This saline sensation comes through strongly on the palate, with a slightly richer texture than you might expect from a typical Albariño wine. Impeccably balanced and so much better for a few years bottle age. A lovely Albariño. 94Pts
Purchased from Betlem Wine Bar in Barcelona, for €37.50
DO Ferreiro Cepas Vellas 2013
100% Albariño from the oldest vines in the region, potentially in Spain, at a claimed 200+ years! All sourced from the Salnes Valley. Cold soaked and fermented with ambient yeasts in stainless steel, then aged for a year on its lees thereafter. 12% ABV
Another wine I’ve been drinking for a while and first discovered on my wine trip to Galicia in 2015. Light in colour and subtly aromatic, with a nose like a fresh, sea breeze. Even at 5 years old, this smells like lemon juice, green apple skin, crushed sea-shells and smoke. Fresh, salty and very mineral, this is the essence of the Atlantic Ocean in a bottle. Distinctive, persistent and absolutely lovely. 95Pts
Purchased from the winery for €20
Bodega Fulcro Rías Baixas Fulcro O Equilibrio 2016
100% Albariño from the Salnes Valley, produced by the ‘garage’ production of Manuel Moldes. Made from Albariño grown exclusively on Schist soils, aged in old French oak with MLF suppressed. 12.5% ABV
This is like a brilliant version of a ‘typical’ Albariño. Aromatic and well defined, this jumps out of the glass with notes of ripe peach and apricot, lemon zest, green apples, orange blossom and sweet tarragon herbs. Then, the acidity really picks up on the palate and focuses this quite brilliantly, with far more of the precise citrus and green fruits coming out, with a clean, mineral finish. Mouth-watering stuff and absolutely delicious to drink. I can only imagine how good a bottle of this would be with a seafood lunch! 94Pts
Purchased from Bodega Maestrazgo for €23
Eulogio Pomares Carralcoba 2015
100% Albariño from Castrelo-Cambados, produced by the head wine-maker for Adega Zarate as a separate project. Fermented and aged in 1200L chestnuts foudres. 12.5% ABV
This is a brilliant example of Albariño, albeit a highly unusual one! Slightly oxidative but absolutely thrilling, with notes of mandarin orange, bruised white peach, wild white flowers, subtle toast and ripe lemons. Taut and crackling with energy on the palate, this is an effortlessly good bottle of wine and beautifully packaged to boot, with an old-fashioned, black-and-white label. Long and thrilling. 95Pts
Purchased from Licenc for €25