PAZO BARRANTES ALBARIŇO 2008

 

Ok so this was meant to wait but it has been sitting in our wine rack for the last week waiting for a visitor to impress but "66" has been mighty quiet of late so I cracked last night. I first tasted this a couple of months back at a trade tasting and again when Frans Kerstens(export manager) visited us in Cellars earlier this month and had been pretty excited about getting it into the shop as I have 5 customers who are big  albariño fans and knew it would go down a treat with them.
 This vineyard is owned by Marqués de Murrieta, the famous Rioja producers which I have blogged about previously. The Count of Creixell acquired this property in 1991 and restored it's 16th century Galician palace to it's former glory.The palace is surrounded by vineyards all of which are albariño and used in this single estate wine. By growing the grapes themselves they are able to keep a close eye on how they are grown and picked therefore ensuring only the top grapes are used.
Weather in Rias Baixas is windy and rainy so grapes need to be trained high to allow them to dry out and catch the sun when it's out, as seen here with the Pazo in the background. The grapes are handpicked, harvest starting the end of September and finishing on the 4th of October for this vintage. They are sorted by hand and fermented on their lees for approxiamtely 5 months giving depth and intensity to the wine. Released on to the market after 2 months in bottle.
 I was actually hoping there was a bit of a story behind this label as I do like a good tale but apparently they are the traditional local shoes of the Galician area - disappointing! The wine certainly isn't though. It is a lovely golden colour with peaches, apricots and oranges on the nose. There is a lovely weight to this wine and a creaminess that I don't think is normally evident in albariño as it is quite an acidic grape. A dry white with a lovely long finish. Again this is pricey at €21.99 and like most albariños is just made for seafood although Lou was on cooking duty last night and it wasn't half bad with our stable summer diet of chicken, mushrooms and tomato salsa.

Till Next Time
Clare

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