La Val Orballo, Albarino 2023

Modest and passionate about his vineyards, Abel and his wife Maite have been making understated wines in San Vicente since 1988.

Lying in the shadow of the Sierra Cantabria, Abel has vineyards in the finest parts of the Alavesa. His knowledge and understanding of the soils is enthralling and to taste in his cellar can be an education on the effects different soils have in different years. He wants only to express the fruit and the soil and unlike many Riojans, he leaves it more or less at that. He does not want to stamp the wines with any particular style or mark of his own other than his respect for the very natural quality of the grapes and for the magical places that they were grown.

Straw yellow. Intense aromas, floral, very perfumed, with good fruit expression in the foreground, and well integrated wood notes of balsamic and dried grass. In the mouth it has superb acidity with a bright, smooth, silky and pleasant finish.

Modest and passionate about his vineyards, Abel and his wife Maite have been making understated wines in San Vicente since 1988.

Lying in the shadow of the Sierra Cantabria, Abel has vineyards in the finest parts of the Alavesa. His knowledge and understanding of the soils is enthralling and to taste in his cellar can be an education on the effects different soils have in different years. He wants only to express the fruit and the soil and unlike many Riojans, he leaves it more or less at that. He does not want to stamp the wines with any particular style or mark of his own other than his respect for the very natural quality of the grapes and for the magical places that they were grown.

Cherry red, purple and traces of violet. Subtle notes of cocoa, liquorice, and balsamic. It enters the mouth dry and structured.

Modest and passionate about his vineyards, Abel and his wife Maite have been making understated wines in San Vicente since 1988.

Lying in the shadow of the Sierra Cantabria, Abel has vineyards in the finest parts of the Alavesa. His knowledge and understanding of the soils is enthralling and to taste in his cellar can be an education on the effects different soils have in different years. He wants only to express the fruit and the soil and unlike many Riojans, he leaves it more or less at that. He does not want to stamp the wines with any particular style or mark of his own other than his respect for the very natural quality of the grapes and for the magical places that they were grown.

A very classy and compelling wine. Deeply coloured with a pure, intense bouquet of crushed fruits, spice and oak. Elegant oak aging enhances the wine’s complexity and class.

Sometimes on our travels we taste wines made from near extinct varieties and frankly begin to understand why natural selection is a thing. However, the Albillo variety which Bodegas Arrayan are known for is the real deal. This is a genuinely interesting grape and can make wines with a proper ‘spark’. Style wise it’s akin to a rich Albarino, perhaps an Albarino/Pinot Gris cross, delicious stuff. Interestingly (to me anyway) the grapes are hand harvested before being foot trodden with the juice remaining in contact with the skins for a couple of days before spontaneous fermentation in steel tanks. It’s then given 7 months in old 500 litre French oak barrels to add some texture but very little in the way of oak character. Jancis Robinson MW had this to say of the 2018 vintage: Bright stone-fruit nose, with some attractive fennel character. There’s a little touch of honey which I’m reliably told will increase with time. The palate is pretty exciting with chalky texture and bright acidity. It’s not racy, but very persistent with a fresh mineral finish.