Bodega Castro Martin Rias Baixas Albariño Sobre Lias 2010

It’s still winter here, but I’ve had a few nice whites over the last weeks and I’m trying to sort through them.  This one in particular I had by the glass some time ago and revisited this week because the tasting note I took the first time was incomplete.  So, second time lucky with this Bodega Castro Martin Rias Baixas Albariño Sobre Lias 2010.

I look forward to getting back to Spain.  I’ve been to visit almost ten times, but all the trips were when I was living in London and more interested in whisky, and as such I’ve not done any wine tourism.  Now though, I could easily spend a summer there, starting in Rias Baixas in the northwest and winding my way through the country until I ended up in the far south in Jerez.

Speaking of starting in Rias Baixas, this is not the first time this blog has been there, though it was all the way back in February that I wrote about Bodegas Eidosela.  As I mentioned then, it is a region in that bit of Spain directly north of Portugal, on the coast, and plantings are dominated by Albariño.  Five other white grapes and six red grapes are also permitted, though combined they make up less than 10% of vines.

The climate is maritime with an abundance of rain.  Disease pressure is generally high in the vineyard, and overhead trellises or pergolas were traditionally used to allow airflow, though rows of Geneva double curtain are more commonplace now.  Soils are granitic, though some of the five sub-zones have alluvial soils as well, particularly in river valleys.

Bodegas Castro Martin is a family run producer that traces its roots back to 1887, though the current winery was established in 1982 by Domingo Martin-Morales, five years before the Rias Baixas DO was created.  The winery itself is largely gravity fed, spread across three floors, and is claimed to be the first in the region to make use of stainless steel tanks.  Since 1993, the business  has been in the hands of Angela Martin.  She was joined by English wine buyer Andrew McCarthy who apparently arrived in 2001 hoping to find some Albariño and ended up marrying Angela as well.

Bodegas Castro Martin produces four wines made exclusively from Albariño, though as expressions of different sub-zones and terroirs.  This wine is from the coolest of those sub-zones, Val do Salnés, with vines planted in sandy soil over granite and quartz.  The grapes are hand harvested into baskets, and then hand sorted at the winery.  After the fermentation in stainless steel, there is 5-6 months of lees contact.

Albariño is a thick skinned and aromatic white grape, known for producing good levels of acid, alcohol and flavour.  It is an important grape in Vinho Verde, and while in Rias Baixas it is sometimes found in a blend, more commonly of late it is bottled as a varietal.  It’s found a following among winemakers in Australia, though that is a story for later this week.

In the glass, this wine is clear and bright, with a pale lemon green colour and slow legs.  It’s clean on the nose with medium minus intensity, developing, and with notes of custard, grapefruit, pear, and blossom.  On the palate it’s dry, with high acidity, medium body, medium plus alcohol, medium plus intensity, and medium length.  There are notes of green apple, quince, grapefruit, pear, and some herbs – coriander / cilantro I think.

This wine is strongly acidic, but not in a bad way so much. It is a bit shy on the nose, but on the palate it has a very pleasing flavour profile.  I’m happy to call this good, and given that I had it by the glass it might be even better with a bottle known to be fresh.

Bodegas Eidosela Rías Baixas Arbastrum 2010

While I was busy neglecting Portugal, I barely noticed that I hadn’t paid Spain much attention either.  I’ve written up two different wines from Rioja, both red, but Spain has a great deal to offer in red, white, rosé still wine, not to mention fortified and sparkling wine.

Todays wine is not red, nor is it from Rioja.  Instead we have Bodegas Eidosela Rías Baixas Arbastrum 2010.  Like many, possibly most, Spanish wines, this is a blend of grapes, with Albariño dominating, and with Loureira and Treixadura rounding out the mix.  At some point I’ll formalize how I write about wine, so that I don’t miss out on something I’d like to cover, but for today I’ll go with grapes, region, producer, and then finally the wine itself.

So grapes - Albariño is a fairly trendy variety these days.  It was the dominant grape in the Vinho Verde of earlier this week under the name Alvarinho, and it’s made something of a beachhead in a few places in the New World, such as the USA and Australia.  It’s thick skinned, aromatic, and can produce good levels of acid, alcohol and flavour, and as such can certainly stand alone as a varietal wine.  I’m not brilliant at identifying varieties, but when I encounter Albariño I usually pick up orange or mandarin blossom. It’s a bit like  Torrontés in that way, but a much more common wine to encounter blind.  Loureira  (sometimes known as Loureiro) and Treixadura are the lesser grapes in the mix, both aromatic, though rarely bottled as varietals, and without as much international cultivation outside of Spain and Portugal.  I’ve not had either as a varietal, so I’m not sure what they contribute to the blend.

Region - Rías Baixas is in northwestern Spain, in the bit that sticks out over northern Portugal.  Known best for it’s dry whites, it has a maritime climate that sees more than its share of rain as well as a granite-based soil.  Twelve grape varieties are permitted, including six which are red, but like this wine, the area is dominated by Albariño with Loureira and Treixadura being the next two most important grapes.

Producer – I know little about Bodegas Eidosela, but they appear to be a very modern, fair sized winery – 600,000 litres capacity.  Founded as a co-operative in 2003 by seven growers, it’s grown to 60 members, with holdings of 45ha.  It produces this blend as well as two other wines, each 100% Albariño.

This wine itself is pale – far from water, but such a different white from the Jura of yesterday.  It has an intense floral nose, with heady blossom, orange and lime.  The palate is fairly intense, with lime and mandarin citrus, but on the finish it’s not pure fruit but rather the oil you get out of orange peel.  Sweet and sour, but delicious.