“Alberto Nanclares and Silvia Prieto make a series of organically farmed albariños that are among the best examples of the variety.”
—Eric Asimov, the New York Times

Albariño is one of our favorite under-the-radar varieties. It’s minerally, versatile and terroir-transparent, and it’s still possible to find extraordinary examples of this grape from Galicia’s best winemakers for less than $30. Today we have one from Eri Asimov favorite Nanclares y Prieto.

Galicia is full of granite. Vineyards are studded with hunks of the stuff, and like in some of the best granite-rich regions (the northern Rhône, Beaujolais, Muscadet), this mineral imbues the wines with a very special quality — savory, earthy, and almost unbelievably stony. Albariño’s joyful fruit character (we often detect melon, peach and lime) is tempered by this granitic minerality; it’s further accented by sea breeze salinity. Some of the vineyards are within spitting distance of the salty Atlantic.

Alberto Nanclares retired to Galicia for its beaches, but quite quickly found himself enamored with the vines. After a handful of vintages on his own, he found a partner in Silvia Prieto, and they have been making incredible iterations of Albariño ever since, using low-intervention methods in both the vines and in the cellar. Unlike some of the more commercial wineries in the area, Nanclares y Prieto never chemically manipulate their fruit or their wines; rather, the grapes are treated with the utmost respect, and only a touch of SO2 is added.

Alberto Nanclares Albarino Dandelion 2022 $29.99
“Dandelión is an excellent introduction to their line, pure, fresh, deep, textured and mineral, with floral, herbal and fruit flavors. It’s the sort of wine that always seems to hold a little back, which keeps you moving toward that next sip in an effort to unravel its full dimension.” Eric Asimov, the New York Times

 

 

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