2020 Pazo de Barrantes Albarino, Rias Baixas, Spain

95 Wine & Spirits. Vicente Cebrián Sagarriga, proprietor of Marqués de Murrieta in Logroño, traces his family’s history back to this domaine in Salnés. His team farms 30 acres of albariño in eight parcels, and their vineyard work came together in this latest release, the best vintage we’ve tasted from the estate. Fermented and aged in stainless steel, with 15 percent in acacia barrels, it’s immediately ripe and luscious; the flavors seem to emanate from the structure imparted by that small contribution of wood and the pale, salt-cod savor of the lees. The scent of apricot blossoms and white peach builds layers of flavor that just keep going. Delicious with roast scallops or most anything else from the sea.

Pazo de Barrantes is part of the Marqués de Murrieta family, one of the founding fathers of modern Spanish winemaking. The winery has been associated to the Counts of Creixell since the beginning of the 20th century, and the property in the hands of the family since 1511. Over the years, the Count of Creixell´s family has given its own personality to every wine produced at the winery. In the 1990s, the Galician property turned into an estate designed specifically for the albariño growing, the great and noble local grape variety. This enabled the family to join all the efforts to offer careful and precise winemaking in the heart of the Salnés Valley.

The Pazo de Barrantes estate is located in the Salnés Valley of Rías Baixas and is the largest single estate in the valley. The property is close to the Galician coast in the western part of Spain, just north of Portugal. The winery is settled near the southern tip of the Rioja Alta in the middle of the beautiful Ygay Estate, a unique 300 hectare vineyard that guarantees complete control over the grape source of the wines and is the key to the quality and style of Marqués de Murrieta wines.