Atlantic Spain: It’s Always About the Weather…

BY JOSH RAYNOLDS | JUNE 17, 2021

Stretching from Galicia in the far northwest and along the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Biscay to the Basque Country, Atlantic Spain is the country’s coolest winegrowing region. Mostly indigenous varieties that are grown virtually nowhere else in Spain are the rule. The almost universally ocean-influenced climate and the intrinsic character of those local grapes define vibrant wines that are increasingly capturing the attention of wine lovers across the globe.

The rolling hills of Rias Baixas that descend toward the Atlantic ocean produce some of the most vibrant white wines from Spain.

The White Wines

The earlier-bottled white wines from 2020 are starting to enter the market now. What I have tasted so far has been quite impressive, even more so considering the difficulties of the vintage. The growing season got off to a fast start, with a warmer than usual spring. This gave way to an atypically damp late spring and summer, bringing uncommon mildew pressure that required strict and constant attention to the vineyards. Given a widespread shortage of manual labor caused by the pandemic, it was a time of serious stress for the growers. Yields varied from zone to zone, with Rías Baixas realizing a crop that was up nearly 20% over 2019 in some sites, while numbers were down by roughly the same amount in Bierzo and Ribeira Sacra. Small producers who have always relied on manual labor and, who by tradition, work labor shortfall than larger wineries that are more dependent on seasonal and non-resident workers. Fortunately, small production from small vineyards is more the rule in Galicia than the exception, which definitely worked in many bodegas’ favor, or at least mitigated the angst.

The naturally high-acid Albariño that dominates Rías Baixas appears to have handled the warmth of the 2020 vintage well, based on the admittedly small set of wines that I have tried so far. That said, I expect that most of the wines will be more ample than classically taut and racy, with more orchard fruit and less citrus character than usual. I’m also expecting them to be perhaps less age-worthy than usual – not that many people actually cellar the wines, even if they should give it a shot. In warm vintages, the signature minerality and tension of a Rías Baixas can be muted as well, which, ironically, can make the wines work with a wider range of foods than those from typical or cooler vintages. Very few of the typically richer Godello- and Treixadura-based Galicia and León white wines – meaning Bierzo, Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras – have been released yet, so I have only had a small sampling thus far. Those varieties, and more inland regions, usually produce a weighty, more ample and less racy style than one finds with Albariño and from seaside Rías Baixa. That difference is especially marked in hot years. The brief look that I have been able to take suggests that wines will be muscular but still possess good enough acidity to keep them lively, even if most will be best on the young side. Godello, in particular, has a tendency to turn rich and even exotic with age, and my guess is that it will happen sooner than later with the 2020s.