Palacio de Fefinanes Albarino 2017
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Wine & Spirits
This is the flagship of Palacio de Fefiñanes, first produced in 1928. The grapes are from Cambados, and the wine spends six months in stainless-steel tanks until it’s bottled. A classic albariño from Rías Baixas, this is a lovely mix of peach flavors, scents of flowers and herbs and a mineral background. It is soft, round, juicy and rich in its lime-scented acidity. For batter-fried calamari.
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Wine Enthusiast
Fefiñanes ranks among the best and most consistent makers of Albariño in Rías Baixas, so no surprise that this comes across clean on the nose, with lively notes of white fruits and buttercup. A plump but vibrant palate is still in peak condition, while this tastes of nectarine, apple, honeydew and lime. Drink through 2019.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The classical 2017 Albariño de Fefiñanes was produced with grapes from the Salnés Valley, where soils are mostly granite-based. This gives the wines a varietal touch of freshness, acidity and salinity. It fermented in 8,000-liter stainless steel vats at 16 degrees Celsius. It felt a bit reductive and needed time to open up. The palate is clean and harmonious, with tasty flavors, very pleasant and easy to drink. My experience is that this wine is much better on its second, third and fourth year. 179,000 bottles produced. There are 18 bottlings of it.
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2020-
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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.