Nanclares Rias Baixas Albarino Dandelion 2022

Wines from this tiny Galician gem are always on our heavy rotation list. Alberto Nanclares and Silvia Prieto take Albariño to to the very highest place. Through meticulous winemaking they channel the soul of Rías Baixas, its sandy, granitic soils, and their place on the Atlantic coast of northern Spain into their tiny winery infusing their wines with startling intensity. While other winemakers in the region de-acidify their Albariño, Alberto and Silvia fully embrace that acid. The bright, vibrant energy of their wines is unmatched. Dandelion is 100% Albariño, wild-fermented and aged on its lees for 7 months. The wine is alive, saline, and delicious. It smells and tastes of lime zest, wet cement, honeysuckle and ripe asian pear.

Alberto and Silvia honor and protect their vineyards in a way that resembles the reverence and respect one might show a group of elders. Their winery is not much bigger than a walk-in closet. What they manage to capture in that small space is a sort of mystical connectedness to their homeland that should be (and is) the envy of every winemaker working to connect their wines to a place.