Terras Gauda Abadía De San Campo Albariño Rías Baixas (DO) 2022, 12.5%
RRP: €20.95. Stockists: 64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny
a very juicy and fresh wine.
This bottle is bursting with brio, is fresh and fragrant, and immediately engaging. The colour is a clean green-tinged yellow with definite citrus traits on the nose. The palate is filled with citrus and mineral sensations. Yet it is very well balanced, with quite a persistent and pleasant finish. Excellent overall, it shows the magnificent qualities of this increasingly popular grape. Very Highly Recommended.
Aging is not recommended. Or is it? You will see some experts, such as Hugh Johnson, giving this the DYA designation, meaning drink youngest available! The producers concur.
But there is at least one contrary opinion. Finest Wines of Rioja (2011) debunked a “popular misconception” that these wines are meant to be drunk within one year of the vintage. “..a quality Albariño, bottled during the first spring after harvest, with a balanced structure relying on fresh acidity and a good mineral character, will be at its best after its second spring and will continue growing in bottle for some years.”
Le Caveau tells us it works brilliantly when served with tuna steaks. It is also ideal with seafood, shellfish (Percebes!), fish... “or almost anything coming out of the Atlantic.” The winery recommends serving it at a temperature between 10°C and 12°C and adds that it can also be enjoyed with Asian cuisine. It is best appreciated chilled on a hot summer day.
Thought to be related to Riesling and presumably brought by Cluny monks to 12th century Iberia, via France, the relatively recently fashionable Albarino grape is now mainly associated with Rías Baixas in northwestern Spain. It is also grown in neighbouring areas in Portugal where it is spelt as Alvarinho. Indeed, recent studies suggest it is native to Galicia and Portugal.
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