Martin Codax Albarino 2019
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Robert
Parker
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The Martín Códax Rías Baixas Albariño is delicate and medium-bodied with a crisp, dry finish. On the palate, flavors of pear, passion fruit, ripe apple, peach and lemon zest are framed by bright minerality and hints of spice.
Attractive floral aromatics and brisk acidity make this a versatile, food-friendly wine.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One of the most reliable and regular wines from the zone, the 2019 Martín Códax, is also affordable and widely available, the first contact of many consumers with Albariño and Rías Baixas. It's always clean, expressive and approachable, with clean aromas of white flowers and fruit and recently cut grass, and it has a soft palate, balanced, with moderate alcohol, good acidity and a touch of sugar that makes it quite mellow but not sweet. One of the best, if not the best, commercial Albariño that doesn't change much from vintage to vintage.
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The Albariño grapes Bodegas Martin Codax uses for its wines come from its own vineyards, and thus the high quality and purity of the fruit is guaranteed.
Meticulous production methods combine the most advanced viticultural techniques (soil analysis, phytographic hygiene testing, progress control of the different stages of grape development...), with the most traditional know-how regarding vine growing and harvesting conditions.
Bright and aromatic with distinctive floral and fruity characteristics, Albariño has enjoyed a surge in popularity and an increase in plantings over the last couple of decades. Thick skins allow it to withstand the humid conditions of its homeland, Rías Baixas, Spain, free of malady, and produce a weighty but fresh white. Somm Secret—Albariño claims dual citizenship in Spain and Portugal. Under the name Alvarinho, it thrives in Portugal’s northwestern Vinho Verde region, which predictably, borders part of Spain’s Rías Baixas.
Named after the rías, or estuarine inlets, that flow as far as 20 miles inland, Rías Baixas is an Atlantic coastal region with a cool and wet maritime climate. The entire region claims soil based on granite bedrock, but the inlets create five subregions of slightly different growing environments for its prized white grape, Albariño.
Val do Salnés on the west coast is said to be the birthplace of Albariño; it is the coolest and wettest of all of the regions. Having been named as the original subregion, today it has the most area under vine and largest number of wineries.
Ribeira do Ulla in the north and inland along the Ulla River is the newest to be included. It is actually the birthplace of the Padrón pepper!
Soutomaior is the smallest region and is tucked up in the hills at the end of the inlet called Ria de Vigo. Its soils are light and sandy over granite.
O Rosal and Condado do Tea are the farthest south in Rías Baixas and their vineyards actually cover the northern slopes of the Miño River, facing the Vinho Verde region in Portugal on its southern bank.
Albariño gives this region its fame and covers 90% of the area under vine. Caiño blanco, Treixadura and Loureira as well as occasionally Torrontés and Godello are permitted in small amounts in blends with Albariño. Red grapes are not very popular but Mencía, Espadeiro and Caiño Tinto are permitted and grown.