Winemaker Notes
#74 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2022
The 2021 Terras Gauda O Rosal is an exemplary bottling of a truly stellar Spanish white wine. It is full-bodied with soft acidity, lively on the palate and has an incredibly long finish. Predominant aromas of ripe peaches, tangerines and orange peel with complementing delicate earthy, mineral and floral overtones and subtle creamy and minty notes. The 2021 vintage exhibits a well-rounded wine Galician white wine, filling the palate with a fresh, youthful and vibrant mouth feel.
At once complex and easy to drink, the estate suggests serving this wine between 10°C to 12°C (50°F 53°F), and serving it with seafood, cream-based or dishes with rich sauces, Asian food and meals featuring a combination of chicken and rice.
Blend: 60% Albariño, 23% Caíño Blanco and 7% Loureiro
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Quite an intense albarino with lemon rind, minerals, pears and a hint of apricot. This is creamy and sleek on the palate, with fresh, lemony flavors that spread evenly across the palate.
-
Wine Spectator
Delicate notes of fresh herb and wet stone accent the apricot and Meyer lemon fruit flavors in this lithe, light-bodied white, which is zesty on the palate, with a spine of racy acidity. Lightly creamy on the salty finish. Albariño, Caiño and Loureiro.
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.