Grape Variety: Albarino

Colour:

White

Albarino is synonymous with Galicia and the green Atlantic-fringed corner of western Spain. The grape is sometimes known as Spanish gold, a reference not only to its colour but also its quality, and also grown in Portugal, where it is known as Alvarinho. Albarino’s flavours tease and please on multiple levels. Citric notes are plentiful; the Albarino disports ripe grapefruit, lime and kiwi; the wine also has good sugar levels balanced by wonderfully natural acids and crystalline minerality. Despite its high acidity, Albarino is not a wine that ages well. Although it is often compared to German Riesling, Albarino is meant to be drunk young because it has a tendency to oxidize quickly. The perfect accompaniment to a whole range of fish and shellfish from mussels, clams and oysters to sardines, mackerel, skate and hake, Albarino is the product of its environment, a true wine of the sea. It is a reminder of where water, sky and land meet; it quenches the thirst, lifts the spirits and can transport you to a wild, beautiful landscape. The Abadia de San Campio is classic citric Albarino, as refreshing as it is aromatic, but it is the Terras Gauda from the eponymous estate in O Rosal in the southernmost part of Rias Baixas, that shows how Albarino can combine with other grape varieties (such as Loureiro and Caino) to form a wine of real mineral complexity.

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