Over the past six years, Leirana Albarino is our 2nd best-selling Spanish white. And yet, in that same time, I have not offered to anyone other than previous buyers. That is how deliciously obsessed customers are with this wine. For a short time, I have access to a formerly restaurant-allocated stash. So this is your turn to get on the list for future offers.

Who should try this? Other than fans of Albarino? Anyone who loves crisp, mineral-laced whites with complexity and intensity, eg Chablis, Austrian Gruner Veltliner or Riesling, Sancerre, High-end Italian whites, etc. 

Forjas de Salnes, Albarino "Leirana" 2020

Sale $29.99

94 pts Wine Advocate - Highest-Rated Albarino under $40 and The Highest-Rated Leirana To Date

93 pts Penin Guide (Highest-rated Leirana)

From vines ranging from 40-70 years of age, all with close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. Winemaker Rodrigo "Rodri" Medez is, by all measure, the King of Albarino. "Descended from the founding head of the DO of Rias Baixas, he is an astute historian of the history and heritage of this place, and makes wines to express and preserve this history and unique maritime terroir. He sources the parcels he farms through generational familial relationships, from families for whom winemaking is no longer their way of life. Indeed, his preservation of these historic vineyards is a vocation as much as it is a passion project – he feels compelled and bound to farm these parcels, because otherwise they would no longer exist. He makes wine in a way that harkens back to lost methods – painstaking work that eschews the tutti-frutti style that’s become the mainstream. Rather than allowing the wine to go through malolactic fermentation, Rodri lets his fruit hang longer than his neighbors in the appellation, allowing the natural weight and viscosity of the wine balance the searing acidity that this maritime zone produces. This approach is risky and requires expertise few can match, but the end result is a wine with weight that reflects the sea and the wind – unmistakably Salnes." importer note

Val do Salnes is the coolest region in Rias Baixas in by virtue of its proximity to the Atlantic – a whopping 5 meters above sea level! There is a pronounced salinity to this wine that serves to accentuate the flinty mineral tones and complement the juicy stone fruit.   The nose really does almost smell like the ocean – my mouth started watering for oysters as soon as I tasted it. As is Rodri's hallmark, this is impeccably balanced and beautifully concentrated.  A stunning wine that stands well apart from the Albarino pack!

“The vibrant 2020 Leirana was produced with a blend of 60% wine matured in used oak foudre and the rest stainless steel, as the wine has very high acidity (9 to 9.5 grams with a pH of 2.99!) and doesn't go through malolactic; so, it is very sharp, and the higher percentage of oak makes it a little rounder. It's powerful and pungent, serious and with granite minerality, showcasing the serious style of the whites from 2020. It has moderate alcohol (12.9%) and an electric palate that is clean and tasty, with a stony finish." WA


Or reply. The wine is available now in Chapel Hill. Friday, as ordered, in Hillsborough.