Unless you’re fairly new to drinking wine, you may recall the moment when Albarino tasted a lot like Sauvignon Blanc. This was no accident. The large producers who pushed their exports in America were using more recent Albarino plantings in warmer parts of Galicia. Younger vines and warmer sites meant tropical flavors, just like you get in a glass of Marlborough. And Albarino producers, seeing the success of NZ Sauvignon Blanc in America, started using the same prepackaged yeast that gives so many NZ wines their so-called “distinct” grapefruit flavor.

Consumers quite rightly asked, what’s the point? If we’ve already got NZ Sauvignon Blanc, who needs a wine from Spain that tastes the same?

Producers – and more in-the-know consumers – started to look more closely at what Albarino could offer the truly distinctive world. Albarino is the native grape of Galicia, Spain’s northern province, a region that’s green like Ireland, cool, windswept, awesome. And the wines at their best taste of that land. We love them!

And one look at the labels of Granbazan and you know you’ve found something distinctive. Open a bottle, and you know you’ve found something authentic. The wine has lovely fruit, yes, but it's the crisp berries, apples, and pears of cool-climate white wine, not the tropical flavors of warmer climates. The wine is infused with the fresh minerality that you would expect from older vines planted in excellent terroir: rocks and minerals, precious jewels. All of this is because Granbazan works with some of the earliest plantings of Albarino in Galicia, all of which are located in the coolest part of the region. The wine is then vinified in a traditional style, with no tricks or flavor enhancers.

In late Spring, we offered the amber-colored version of this wine. Today’s wine has a green label: an even fresher, zippier version of Albarino. It is the Atlantic Ocean at its best:

Granbazan Rias Baixas Albarino Etiqueta Verde 2023 - $22.99
"A crisp and refreshing white that has aromas of lemon peel, lime zest and green apples. It's light- to medium-bodied with tangy acidity. Pristine, minerally and mouthwatering finish. Vegan. Drink now. 92 points" - James Suckling