Winemaker Notes
This Albariño displays a pale straw-yellow hue with bright greenish reflections. The nose is pure, precise, and aromatic, showcasing a vibrant medley of stone fruits (apricot, apple), tropical nuances (pineapple), and fresh herbal notes (bay leaf, fennel), layered with delicate citrus undertones (grapefruit) and a refined saline touch. On the palate, it is elegantly structured, well-balanced, and energetic, revealing a lively interplay of fruit, citrus, and Atlantic herbs. The long, crisp finish is marked by a distinct saline minerality and a subtle bitter edge, adding depth and character.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of brine, fennel, steel, lemons and white peaches. Incisive and medium- to full-bodied, with salinity and volume. It’s sharp yet rounded. Fermented and aged in tanks.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2024 Albariño is from different vineyards, mixing granite, alluvial and slate soils. It fermented in stainless steel, where the wine was kept with the lees for five months. They want to express the sharp profile of Albariño, not exotic or exuberant. It has 12.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.2 and 7.2 grams of acidity. It has a floral note and a vibrant palate with very good freshness and acidity with a saline twist. Rating: 91+
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2024 Albariño La Val has a wealth of salty minerality from the schist in which it grows. It gets a fruity profile from Finca Arantei, one of the main grape sources, and offers good medium-bodied volume, freshness, texture, and sophistication. Fermentation took place in on the lees in stainless steel, and a tiny amount was aged in concrete. The structure is impressive, providing a foundation for the pronounced pineapple and peach flavors complemented in fennel and saline.
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Vinous
The 2024 Albariño from Rías Baixas spent five months on the lees. It offers a rounded profile with sun-kissed tones and a light terpenic hint, alongside white flowers, apricot and jasmine. This is intense and vibrant, with a defined, malic palate and a long finish for a white wine.
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.