Winemaker Notes
Complex aromas of salinity exotic fruits with wet earth/herbal tones. The palate is textured with excellent acidity.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I retasted the regular 2014 Albariño, since the bottle I sampled last time might have been marred by the cork, and they wanted to show it again. This is from a cold, rainy and challenging year, when they did not produce the Cepas Vellas; they lost almost 45% of the grapes, and the wine has a very different profile. They harvested late, into October, which might be why the wine is golden colored. The nose feels almost tropical, but the palate is lighter and feels leaner than anticipated. This is an unusual Do Ferreiro.
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James Suckling
Plenty of pear and sliced apple character. Full body, fresh acidity and a fresh and clean finish.
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Wine & Spirits
The flavor of tart white fruit remains in the background, while intense mineral notes surround the palate in a hug. This albarino is juicy, refreshing and full of life, its acidity present from beginning to end and everywhere in between. Ope it now for seafood linguini.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Can Galicia entice the American wine drinker? I for one am in love with this part of Spain. Having been there eating and drinking on a couple of occasions, I have become so enraptured with Albariño that I sometimes even dream about it. The 2014 Do Ferreiro is almost international in style. While it brings the area into the fore, the wine also shows a richness that is sometimes not seen from other producers, would be nice with lightly grilled oysters. Light straw, green in color; rich and aromatic in the nose with some flowers, mineral and core fruits; round and textured on the palate; dry, pleasing acidity and well balanced; bright apple and some flowers in the flavors; crisp mineral finish. (Tasted: January 27, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
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.