Lagar de Costa’s “Doelas” comes from Val do Salnés, a sub-region that sits directly on the coast of the Atlantic inside a small estuary, making it the wettest region in the Rías Baixas. Cool temperatures combined with the salty air give the wines a briny minerality and a fresh floral component that is unmatched, and when you taste them you realize why Val do Salnés houses the highest concentration of bodegas in Rías Baixas. Vines are grown on sandy, granitic soils, with small parcels of limestone, the perfect catalyst to trap aromatics while offering proper drainage for the high rainfall of the region. High winds blow in from the Atlantic to combat rot and mildew, which are common side effects of such a wet climate. 

Lagar de Costa has been a family-owned winery for three generations, and from vineyard to bodega, the family oversees each part of the winemaking process. The vineyards are planted all the way to the coastline of the Atlantic, and are locked in on either side by dense forest. The family focuses purely on Albariño varietal, and many of their vines are more than 50 years old. Vineyards sit at a mere 30 meters above sea level, and vines are trained to let the Atlantic winds blow through easily, drying the grapes as needed. 

In true Val do Salnés fashion, “Doelas” offers one of the most refreshing and delicious glasses of wine you will find anywhere in the world. The wine exhibits a pale golden yellow core with heavy green highlights throughout. The nose is powerful and focused, with notes of hard yellow peach, honeydew melon, green apple core, salt preserved Meyer lemon and wet stones. The palate is medium bodied, with flavors which mirror the nose along with a refreshing salt-tinged mineral finish which seems to go on for minutes. This wine is best to consume young and fresh, ideally before 2023, at around 50 degrees. And as you might have gathered by now, I’d serve it with simply prepared seafood dishes and salads, or live as the locals do and pair with fresh clams, scallops or any other mollusks you can find burrowing about.