Description
Bodegas La Caña, Rías Baixas Albariño “Navia”
The evolution of Rías Baixas Albariño from fun new discovery to world-class white wine has been something to behold. By now, SommSelect-ers have a clear idea of what Albariño is supposed to taste like, and if you’d like a current-release example of this variety and place at the peak of its expression, here’s an absolute banger from Bodegas La Caña.
Many of you know that one of our monthly clubs is a shipment of six concealed bottles to be tasted “blind,” and upon sampling this 2020, we unanimously agreed that this was a textbook Rías Baixas Albariño that needed to be featured in the “Blind 6”—the saline minerality, the slightly peachy fruit, the racy acidity, the elevated texture…this wine hits all the Albariño markers in grand style. Remarkably pure, exceedingly fresh, and unquestionably serious, this is the kind of “next level” Albariño we’re starting to see more regularly. Sourced from the region’s most prestigious subzone—Val do Salnés—and delivering off-the-charts value, this is a no-brainer for serious white wine aficionados!
Although grown within eyeshot of the Atlantic, this is not some simple, salty, seaside quaffer but a wine of radiant energy, profound minerality, and gorgeous swells of citrus. There’s no doubt that it’s Albariño, or from a coastal terroir, but there’s just far more profundity and spirit than we typically ascribe to such wines. That’s the Val do Salnés for you: The vineyards here are mere miles from the Atlantic Ocean, amid a network of streams that trickle over granite on their way to the sea. You pick up not just a “wet stone” minerality in the wine but a palpable salinity—literally the result of salty sea air collecting on the skins of the grapes.
Bodegas La Caña was founded in 2008 by pioneering Spanish wine importer Jorge Ordoñez, who was the first to introduce Rías Baixas Albariño to the US market. But the historic property dates back much farther than that. Grapes for the La Caña wines come from 62 acres of plantings spread out among 40 different small plots, most of them planted in the 1970s and ’80s. The fruit is hand-harvested, whole-cluster pressed, and fermented in large wooden puncheons, in a nod to local tradition. The wine is then aged on its lees for 12 months, during which time it is subjected to regular bâtonnage (lees-stirring).
This 2020 is a deliciously kindred spirit to French Muscadet wines from legendary cru vineyards such as “Clisson” and “Château Thébaud,” with a strikingly similar mix of leesy complexity, etched-from-stone-minerality, vibrant energy, and a telltale kiss of seaborne salinity. By contrast, many Albariños you encounter in the supermarket are crafted using selected yeasts and are pushed towards greater ripeness and sweetness, to suit the “international” palate.
It’s a glistening straw-gold in the glass with greenish highlights at the rim, displaying bright aromas of salted lemon, white peach, green mango, fresh green herbs, crushed rocks, sea salt, fresh cream, and chamomile tea. Medium-bodied and racy, with an oyster shell note that calls great Chablis to mind, it also displays an ever-so-slight phenolic bitterness, like well-steeped green tea, that is classic to the Albariño grape. It is powerful and focused and is clearly structured enough for aging, but why wait? Decant it about 10 minutes before serving in all-purpose white wine stems at 45-50 degrees. The pairing possibilities are practically limitless, with seafood being the logical first choice. Check out the attached recipe for grilled spot prawns with herbs and citrus and enjoy—this is a benchmark you’ll want to have in quantity, so don’t stop with one bottle!
