When Albariño is brought to both the figurative and literal table, the craggy coastline of Spain’s Rías Baixas region is where most minds (mine included) go, and it’s no surprise why. Racy, textured, salt-kissed Galician Albariño may be the worldwide benchmark, but today we’ve got a wine that makes a compelling case for the variety as grown in California—and, more specifically, in the cool coastal appellations surrounding the Monterey Bay.

 Today’s just-released stunner from the immensely talented Russell Joyce is sourced from vineyards in the Arroyo Seco AVA, whose soils and climate bear an especially strong resemblance to those of Galicia. If I had tasted this 2020 blind, I almost certainly would have guessed it was from Rías Baixas, but I’m not surprised in the least that such a mineral, tension-filled, varietally correct Albariño hails from Monterey—it’s really a perfect place for the variety, which becomes obvious at sip one. In fact, this isn’t even the first Monterey-area Albariño we’ve offered on SommSelect, and it won’t be the last, especially if Joyce and others continue to release them at such attractive prices. Although many California vintners take a “square peg in a round hole” approach to planting international varieties, what we have here is a seamless and immensely successful union of grape and place. If you love Albariño like I do, this will blow your mind!

What some subscribers may remember is that rising-star winemaker Russell Joyce scored a huge hit on SommSelect with a similarly pitch-perfect red from Gamay not too long ago. But as we’ve learned firsthand, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a non-mainstream variety or something like Chardonnay or Pinot Noir: Joyce has a very deft touch, stamping all his wines with a readily identifiable “cool climate” imprint. Having grown up in vineyards his father, Francis, planted in the Carmel Valley, Russell learned the ins and outs of California’s Monterey County pretty quickly, and he has augmented his family’s vineyard holdings with fruit sourced from some of the region’s best growers, including Albariño from the “Mission Ranch” and “Cedar Lane” vineyards, both of which are “alluvial” (i.e. river-influenced) sites containing shale, loam, sand, and decomposed granite. If that sounds a little like Rías Baixas, well, it is!

Meaning “dry stream,” the Arroyo Seco AVA is located in the middle of California’s Salinas Valley, and is home to one of the state’s longest growing seasons. The area’s cooling fog and Pacific sea breezes make it well-suited to cultivating a handful of varieties, namely Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir, though Albariño may just be its best-kept secret. In fact, Joyce is convinced that Albariño is going to become synonymous with Arroyo Seco, an appellation he has doubled down on by purchasing the historic Ventana Winery in the region and making it the new home of his operation. This is an appellation you’re going to be hearing a lot more about.

As with all of the Joyce wines, Russell uses a “classic yet transparent” approach in the cellar to best showcase the unique sites from which his wines come. Neutral vessels are always used for fermentation and aging, so as to limit the external influences imparted onto the wine and to allow the fruit to best shine on its own. This 2020 is thrumming with energy and leaves no doubt that it is Albariño: salty and citrusy, it shines a pale straw-gold in the glass with green and silver reflections and leaps out of the glass with around of tart green apple, white peach, wet stones, sea spray, jasmine, and ginger. It is a very taut, high-wire style of wine (not something we say often about California whites), and out-performs many more expensive Rías Baixas whites I’ve tasted recently (also not something I thought I’d ever say). It also couldn’t be landing at our warehouse at a more perfect time: as summer approaches and all the delicacies of the sea start hitting the table with more frequency. Check out the attached recipe for a Monterey Bay-style cioppino—the epitome of “California cool” and a perfect partner for this killer white. This is the new face of California white wine, and we’re here for it! Cheers!