Albariño from Rías Baixas is ‘inimitable’

The unique climatic conditions in Rías Baixas create “inimitable” Albariños that can’t be bettered anywhere in the world according to one leading producer in the region.

Albariño from Rías Baixas in northwest Spain is “inimitable”

Speaking to the drinks business during a recent visit to the northwestern Spanish region, Vicky Mareque Bueno, director of esteemed estate Pazo de Señorans, said:

“Rías Baixas’ microclimate is hard to replicate in other parts of the world and Albariño is perfectly adapted to it, so we make inimitable Albariños that are the best in the world. Up until now, the region has relied heavily on the brand strength of the Albariño variety rather than promoting itself.

Paso de Señorans Colección – a re-release of its flagship Albariño

“Now that Albariño is being planted in other parts of the world, from California to Australia, it’s important that the Consejo gets behind Rías Baixas and explains to consumers about what makes the region unique.

“It’s time to tell the story of Rías Baixas and not just talk about Albariño.”

Bueno believes Spanish consumers are starting to understand that Spanish whites can age gracefully and that vintage variation in detectable in the wines.

“The aromatics differ quite a lot from year to year, from apple and pear to white flowers and peach,” she told db.

Export manager, Javier Izurieta Romero, revealed that while their Albariños are “designed to be aged” the estate shuns the use of oak entirely.

“We don’t ferment or age the wine in oak – we’ve experimented with it but have found that it overpowers the character of the Albariño. It’s important that the wine is allowed to speak rather than the oak, plus the general perception of oaked Albariño isn’t good,” he said.

Pazo de Señorans makes around 15,000 bottles of its top wine Selección de Añanda and sell it in 35 countries. The inaugural 1995 vintage spent 14 months on its lees. The wine is released in Spain at around €35 per bottle.

“Today we age the wine for an average of 30 months on the lees depending on the year. The wine tells us when it’s ready. The longest we’ve left it is 42 months. We sell a lot of Selección de Añanda in the UK through Berry Bros & Rudd.

“You get a longer life from a wine if you age it on its lees. Each vintage of Seleccíon de Añanda is like a snapshot of that particular year,” Romero told db.

“We recently decided to launch a “Colección” range of our flagship wine that we’ve aged for a few more years in bottle in our cellars.

“We keep 10,000 bottles of our standard Pazo de Señorans Albariño back each year for re-release at a later date and sell it under the “Colección” brand. It has proved really popular in the UK.

“For example, the 2011 vintage of our Pazo de Señorans Albariño was released in 2012 at €12 a bottle and we launched the “Colección” version of the wine two years later in 2014 for €15,” he added.

The estate is also looking to release a sweet wine made from local grape Blanca Legitima in the near future in its first expansion beyond Albariño.