2021 Zarate Tras da Vina Single Vineyard Albarino, Galicia

The 2021 Tras da Viña comes from a plot that has more vigor, the first of the grafted plots in Zarate, and they get greater yields, more than in 2020. This gets a longer élevage because, when the wine was started in 2004, they tried to integrate the acidity without malolactic, so they extended the aging with less but without bâtonnage (up to 36 months in the beginning); and they continued like that but shortened the aging a bit. The wine feels very young and very tasty, with a moderate 12.5% alcohol, with a fresh and herbal character. It's tasty, vibrant and saline and has a cold sensation in the palate. It feels fresher than the Balado. This went through malolactic. 5,400 bottles and 150 magnums were produced. It was bottled in May 2023.

96 points Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate

Zárate is one of the benchmark names of Rías Baixas, with the family established at its historic manor in Meaño since the early eighteenth century. The modern estate is driven by Eulogio Pomares, whose meticulous work with old Albariño vineyards has helped show just how serious and ageworthy the variety can be. Rather than making simple, fruity whites for immediate drinking, Pomares treats individual vineyards as distinct terroirs. Tras da Viña is a brilliant example.

Tras da Viña is a single vineyard Albariño from the Val do Salnés, the cool, Atlantic heartland of Rías Baixas. The vines grow on the region’s decomposed granite soils, with salty ocean air, high rainfall and mild temperatures shaping the fruit. Extended ageing on lees gives Tras da Viña considerably more texture and savoury complexity than everyday Albariño. The 2021 now has several years behind it, allowing the citrus and stone fruit to develop more mineral, herbal and gently nutty detail.

Bright straw gold with lemon, white peach and ripe pear followed by grapefruit and green apple. Citrus blossom and fresh fennel sit alongside almond and a distinctly salty, granitic note. The palate is beautifully textured but still wonderfully energetic, with citrus and orchard fruit driven by mouthwatering acidity. Lemon peel, fresh almond and crushed stone gather through a long, dry finish with that characteristic Atlantic salinity.

Galician scallops baked in their shells with breadcrumbs, parsley and just a little jamón would be superb. Grilled octopus, razor clams with garlic, roast hake or crab with saffron rice can keep the Atlantic theme running. This is Albariño with enough depth for the main course, not something that needs to disappear before the food arrives.

Cellaring: Drink now to 2035.