Nanclares, Rias Baixas, Alberto Nanclares Albarino 2021 - 75cl
Alberto Nanclares walked away from a career in finance to farm granite sand by the Atlantic, and the wines have carried that conviction ever since. His holdings scatter across ten small plots around Cambados, Ribadumia and Portas, some of the oldest vines pushing ninety-five years, all worked without chemicals in the sandy, sea-facing soils of Val do Salnés. This is the beating heart of Rías Baixas, the coolest and most saline corner of Galicia, and few growers read it as faithfully as he does.
The wine is Albariño in full, hand-picked and pressed whole-bunch, then split between stainless steel and a quarter or so in seasoned French oak. Nine months on the lees, with weekly stirring early on, gives it flesh without ever tipping into weight. You get green apple and lime up front, a twist of fennel and dill behind, then that unmistakable lick of coarse sea salt that only the best Salnés fruit delivers. The finish is long, saline, faintly creamy from the lees.
Drink it when you want something with a pulse — a bottle for a long lunch that drifts into the afternoon, or the first glass poured before anyone has decided what to eat.
How to Serve
Chill to around 10°C, no colder, or you will mute the salinity that makes it sing. A white Burgundy glass gives the lees texture room to open. No decanting needed, though a wide glass and twenty minutes reward patience.
Where to Drink It
Bentley's, for its oyster bar and a wine built for shellfish. Brat, where the wood-fired turbot meets its match. J Sheekey, for an old-school seafood supper that wants exactly this cut of acidity.
Food Pairings
Pour it beside a plate of raw oysters or grilled langoustines and you will understand the coastline it comes from. I would also chance it with salt cod croquettes — the salinity plays straight into the fry.
