Mathilde Chapoutier Rías Baixas 2022

Mathilde Chapoutier, of the eighth generation of the Rhone house, makes this Albarino in Rias Baixas, the Atlantic corner of Galicia. The climate is cool, green and wet, cooled and moistened by the ocean, and the vines here traditionally grow on granite soils that lend a stony, saline lift. That maritime setting is what gives Albarino its hallmark acidity and salinity. This bottling spends three months in wood, a short ageing that softens the edges and adds a light creamy roundness without covering the fruit, and lees contact during that time builds a subtle textural weight. The colour is bright straw with green tints. The nose shows white peach, apricot and melon over citrus peel and white flowers, and the palate is fresh and rounded, carrying ripe stone fruit and a saline mineral streak into a clean, gently textured finish. Serve at 9 to 11 degrees in a white wine glass.