We are living in a golden age of Albariño. This delightful grape is grown almost exclusively in just one corner of Spain, and we have access to a wide variety of styles from Galicia’s best... Read More

We are living in a golden age of Albariño. This delightful grape is grown almost exclusively in just one corner of Spain, and we have access to a wide variety of styles from Galicia’s best winemakers. I’ve often said that I have an “Albariño problem”, but it isn’t really a problem, per se. I simply love the variety, and the “problem” is that I treat Albariño like a favorite child. I can't get enough of the stuff!

Some of my favorite expressions of great Albariño come from Bodegas Albamar. Winemaker Xurxo Alba comes from a long line of grape growers in the Salnés subregion of Rías Baixas, considered by many to offer the region’s finest terroir. The soils here are incredibly diverse, featuring clay, granite, sand, or any combination thereof. This diversity, as well as the constant brisk, salty ocean breezes coming from the sea, lend an electric minerality to Albamar's wines, and ample structural tension and depth.

He uses only indigenous yeast, rare for the region, and employs long, slow fermentations. As much as it is possible in rainy, humid Galicia, farming is organic (or at least sustainable). Because Galicia is the land of smallholders — the DO of Rías Baixas consists of 4,300 hectares of vineyard split between 5,000 producers — some fruit is purchased from neighbors and friends with the same commitment to environmental protection and limiting chemical interference.