Granbazán Etiqueta Ambar 2025

Granbazán is one of the reference names for Albariño in Rías Baixas, in Galicia in Spain's cool, rainy Atlantic north-west, founded in Cambados in 1965. Albariño is the region's signature white grape, thick-skinned and suited to the damp maritime climate, and it is grown here close to the sea where salt-laden air and steady rainfall keep the fruit fresh and the natural acidity high. This Etiqueta Ámbar bottling is fermented in stainless steel and then held for eight months on its lees, longer than the usual young style. The steel preserves the grape's bright primary fruit while the extended lees contact builds texture and a savoury depth, the slow breakdown of spent yeast releasing mannoproteins that round the palate and add weight without any oak. That lees work is what separates this from a simpler, leaner Albariño. It shows bright straw-yellow with golden highlights in the glass, offering green apple, lemon, white peach and white flowers over a distinct saline, stony note. The palate is dry and textured, the lees weight carried by crisp acidity and a briny, mineral finish that reflects the coastal ground. Serve well chilled at 8 to 10 degrees. It is made for the sea: shellfish, grilled fish and seafood rice.