2020 Bodegas La Cana Albarino Estate Bottled Rias Baixas 750 ml

La Caña’s Albariño shows the kind of sea-spray salinity and minerality that can only come from a seat right up against the ocean—and it never fails to whisk us away to Rías Baixas’s fog-draped coast.

Just north of Portugal, Rías Baixas is part of a region known as “Green Spain” for its lush forests and rivers; a cool, wet Eden for Albariño. In the subzone of Val do Salnés, La Caña’s 20- to 40-year-old vines lie right along the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic, which moderates temperatures throughout the year. That makes for long growing seasons, allowing the grapes to develop complex layers of flavor without sacrificing a drop of their natural acidity.

La Caña is one of the region’s prevailing Albariño specialists—and it’s all they focus on. Their 2020 Estate Bottled Rias Baixas has spectacular energy and finesse. Pour a glass and bask in the aromas of tropical fruit, mandarin blossom, and ocean spray that introduce minerality and energizing acidity on the palate.  

Rías Baixas Albariño owes much of its success to La Caña founder Jorge Ordóñez. An ardent Albariño crusader, Ordóñez was the first importer to bring it to the States, and in founding La Caña he made it his goal to display the variety’s stunning complexity, terroir transparency, and ageworthiness. 

La Caña’s vines are rooted in poor soils, bringing forth concentrated flavors in the grapes. Hand-harvested from a selection of vineyards, the Albariño ages for eight months on the lees, adding a silky polish. Partly aged in stainless steel and partly in oak, the finished wine boasts a fine balance of textural depth and crisp-fruit purity. 

La Caña’s striking, vibrant 2020 beautifully expresses its lush, ocean-kissed homeland.