When the occasion calls for unoaked, deeply mineral white wine with a real sense of place, there are a few grapes/places I instinctively turn to: Chardonnay from Chablis; Dry German Riesling; Grüner Veltliner from Austria’s Wachau; Assyrtiko from Santorini; and, of course, Albariño from Spain’s Rías Baixas. This coastal Galician region is universally regarded as Spain’s greatest contribution to world-class white wine.
Cool temperatures combined with the salty air give the wines a briny minerality and fresh floral component that is seductive as it is unique, and historic estates such as Do Ferreiro, Fefiñanes, Nanclares, and Pedralonga are some of my personal “hall of fame” destinations for the most authentic and mouthwatering Albariños. Of these four heavyweights, Pedralonga offers the most textural and diversely styled expressions of Albariño and today we’re presenting their rarely seen “Terre de Godos” bottling. Don’t expect to see this wine on retail shelves anytime soon, and especially not at this rock-bottom price—this is most definitely a white wine to stock up on by the case, and we have just enough to offer up to 12 bottles per customer until it disappears.
Pedralonga has long been a favorite of mine in the Rías Baixas. Founder Francisco Alfonso planted a mere 7.5 hectares of Albariño and mixed red varieties in granite soils about 10 miles from Spain’s northwestern coast. For a decade and a half, the Alfonso family sold their wine in bulk—or to local families in unlabeled bottles—but in 1997, the family founded an official winery and called it Pedralonga (or “big rock” in the local Gallego dialect, a reference to the enormous shards of granite found throughout Pedralonga’s vineyards). The Alfonso family’s vineyards have been farmed organically since the property’s creation, and in 2007 they began integrating biodynamic practices.
Biodynamic philosophy dominates in the vineyard and Miguel Alfonso, son of Francisco and Pedralonga’s current director, is known to repeat the Galician adage “a man who does not watch the moon does not reap the harvest.” Alfonso consults the phases of the moon when making farming decisions, and only plows his vineyards when absolutely necessary; he prefers to leave the verdant property’s biodiverse soil as untouched as possible. Miguel’s approach in the cellar is similarly hands off. The Albariño grapes that produce today’s wine aren’t even destemmed—Miguel ferments without additives or packaged yeasts and never blocks malolactic fermentation with filtration or aggressive temperature control. The aspect of cellar technique that has arguably the largest impact on Pedralonga’s “house style” is the Alfonsos’ tradition of aging wines on lees for many months (if not years) before bottling. No matter if it’s one of the family’s exotic barrel-aged cuvées or the deeply classic “Terre de Godos” bottling we’re offering today, Pedralonga Albariño always balances incredibly energetic and mineral acidity with leesy richness. If you’ve never enjoyed this style of wine, you shouldn’t miss today’s rare opportunity to do so at a modest price.
The 2015 Pedralonga Albariño “Terre de Godos” shows a golden yellow core with slight green tones at the rim. Aromas of yellow apple core, underripe stone fruit, and salt-preserved lemon rest on a deeply mineral, granitic foundation. This is a medium/light-bodied wine with fresh, angular acidity that is tamed with a pleasantly understated and lees-born creaminess. It’s extremely open and enjoyable today but will continue to soften and evolve for at least another 3-4 years. Like Chablis, or Sancerre, Rías Baixas Albariño is wine that offers distinct, but equally enjoyable, traits in its youth and mid-life. If enjoying it over the next year or so, decant it for 30 minutes and serve in all-purpose Bordeaux stems at 50-55 degrees. This is an incredibly dynamic wine that sings in a variety of culinary contexts, but if you need one “sure thing” companion to this bottle, let it be a variety of poached shellfish. Pick up some clams, shell-on prawns, potatoes, shallots, and fresh herbs. Gently poach everything in a stock pot, then finish with fresh herbs, a few pats of butter and a loaf of fresh bread. There’s really nothing else you need to create your own, near-spiritual Albariño awakening. Cheers!
