May 21 2021

Green Spain - A journey through Green Spain with Sarah Jane Evans MW

Strictly speaking, ‘Green Spain’ describes the north-west province of Galicia, with a tiny bit of Castilla y León attached

Strictly speaking, ‘Green Spain’ describes the north-west province of Galicia, with a tiny bit of Castilla y León attached. However if you stand in the vineyards, then you’ll immediately understand that ‘Green Spain’ actually stretches round the NW corner and East along the coast of the Bay of Biscay towards the Pyrenees. This is where the Atlantic wind and rain make themselves felt.

It’s not easy being a grower in these areas. Rainfall is around 1600mm in Getariako Txakolina, the highest in Spain, with similar quantities in Rías Baixas. The risk of vine disease is high. In the coastal areas the grapes don’t reach high ripeness. Yet, that is the distinct advantage of these maritime terroirs. The alcohols are balanced, hovering around 12-13% ABV. Above all, the acidity is ever-present, making these ideal, thirst-quenching wines in times of climate change. The classic image of Txakolí is the wine of Getaria, poured from a height to liberate the spritz. There are more styles worth exploring in the Txakolís of Bizkaya and Álava, from Chardonnay-like whites, to exceptionally pure sweet wines, to reds and rosados, and even some traditional method sparkling.

Wines Basque

Travel West and you’ll come to Costa Cantábrica where wine projects are developing, and then Asturias. Its inland region of Cangas has distinctly original fresh reds and whites from local varieties such as Albarín Blanco to Carasquín and Verdejo Negro. Finally travel on to Rías Baixas, the spiritual home of Albariño. The young wines are full of flowers, but seek out also the wines with 30 months or more ageing on lees. Such aged Albariño is a transformation.

There’s more to Galicia than the very popular Rías Baixas. Ribeiro wine was a famous import to England in medieval times. Its signature white variety is Treixadura, often blended with Loureiro, Albariño, Godello. Its best wines are rich with a haunting freshness. Ribeira Sacra is a must-visit for its heroic viticulture, with its vines growing on vertiginous slopes. The reds here are fresh and crunchy, from Mencía but also varieties including Brancellao and Merenzao. Monterrei, the youngest of Galicia’s DOs, has traces of winemaking that date back to Roman times. It’s the most southerly DO, and its Mencías have many similarities with Bierzo.

Wines Galicia

The final of Galicia’s DOs, and the warmest, is Valdeorras, the Romans’ ‘valley of gold’ (named from their gold mines). Godello stars here and Rafael Palacios has an exceptional collection of the variety. Over the provincial border in Bierzo, his nephew Ricardo Pérez Palacios is making an equally close study of Mencía. Both of them are farming biodynamically.

Today Rías Baixas and its pure Albariños are internationally established. A new generation of winemakers has arrived to develop their own projects. This is the ideal time to explore the pleasures of Green Spain’s wines.

 

Sarah Jane Evans MW presented a ‘Green Spain’ masterclass at the 2021 Wines from Spain Annual Tasting:  

Wines Basque