Wine of the week

The saline feel of this Val do Salnés Albariño evokes a Proustian memory for Adrian McManus.

Narupa Vinos Salicornia 2020

D.O. Rías Baixas (Subzone: Val do Salnés)

Variety: Albariño

ABV: 13%

€28.00 from La Sazón Gourmet. Tel and WhatsApp: +34 626 758 600

Salicornia is better known to English speakers as marsh samphire, an edible succulent popular with foragers along the coastlines of Britain. Evoking the marshy esteiro of the River Umia as it flows into the Atlantic, it’s hard to imagine a better name for an Albariño from what is acknowledged to be the heartland of the variety, the Val do Salnés.

Narupa Vinos is basically four people: Rosa and Paco (Fran) Pedrosa, together with Ruth Campelo and Nacho Jiménez. They farm a small family plot in the Val do Salnés (Barrantes) and manage several others, some very close to the sea. Their primary goal is to produce Albariño that expresses all the varietal potential of the grape by means of rational viticulture, that is, the application of purely organic solutions to plant health issues and zero waste.

Narupa Salicornia 2020 was fermented in stainless steel and then aged for twelve months in a 600 litre French oak barrel. On the nose you get citrus, nectarine, quince, some toasted notes and a distinct saline feel that, for me, evokes the esteiros of North Norfolk where I spent many a winter in the company of fellow twitchers.

In the mouth it’s round and complex, but with the sapidity characteristic of Albariño. The finish is what I’ve come to expect from the wines of this producer, lingering and compellingly persistent. Narupa also make two other excellent Albariños, Alalá and Piorno, that are well worth checking out.