Pazo de Barrantes 2022

Pazo de Barrantes is a historic estate in the Salnés valley, the coolest and most maritime part of Rías Baixas, working around twelve hectares of Albariño. Salnés lies close to the Atlantic on shallow, sandy granite soils over rock, a cool, damp and windy setting that gives Albariño its high natural acidity and salinity. The current wine follows ten years of research toward a more patient style. It spends two months on its lees in stainless steel, then seven months in acacia barrels, and a further sixteen months in bottle before release. Extended lees contact releases mannoproteins that build texture and a fine savoury depth, while acacia, unlike oak, adds structure and a floral lift without imparting obvious wood flavour, keeping the fruit clear. The bottle age rounds the wine and knits it together. The colour is pale gold with a green hint. The nose is precise, with white peach, apricot, lemon and white flowers over a distinct saline note, and the palate is dry, mineral and long, its acidity giving real drive. Serve it at around 10 to 12 degrees.