Terras Gauda La Mar 2023

Terras Gauda makes La Mar in D.O. Rías Baixas, a maritime corner of Galicia, from a blend of Caíño Blanco, Albariño and Loureiro. Caíño Blanco leads the wine and is the difficult one: it ripens very late and is prone to fungal disease in the damp Atlantic climate, so it demands constant work in the vineyard, but in return it carries the character of the site with real clarity. The fruit is picked by hand into small twenty kilogram boxes to reach the winery whole. After fermentation the wine spends two months on its lees, which adds texture and depth as the yeast breaks down, and then a further twelve months in bottle before release, softening the wine and letting the aromatics settle. It is straw yellow in the glass, with lemon, grapefruit, white flowers and a clear saline note drawn from the coastal setting. The palate is fresh and layered, with citrus and a stony minerality carried by bright Atlantic acidity to a long, savoury finish. Serve it at 9 to 11 degrees. It is very good with shellfish, crab, white fish and goat cheese.