Nanclares y Prieto Dandelion Albarino

"Alberto Nanclares and Silvia Prieto make transparent, Atlantic-influenced wines, mainly with Albariño from old vines around the village of Cambados. Employing organic farming practices and a restrained hand in the cellar, the pair have managed something very rare: the refinement of Albariño into angular, age-worthy wines that express the fascinating terruños of Cambados and Rías Baixas.

The essence of their approach is reverence for the vineyard, from organic farming to fermentation by native yeasts: "In the winery, we respect the grapes as much as possible, we don't use any winemaking additions besides moderate amounts of SO2. We do not ferment with pie de cuba (pied-de-cuve) in order to preserve the identity of each vineyard," Alberto says. To express the edginess of the naturally high in acidity Albariño grape, he does not add potassium, which is what many in Rías Baixas use to de-acidify and soften their wines. Malolactic fermentation rarely occurs, and the wines spend a good amount of time (often a year or more) on their lees before being bottled without clarification or filtration.

Dandelion is Albariño from a collection of plots in Meaño, Combados, Ribadumia, Meis, and Barro. The vines are 25-45 years old, and the plots are largely west facing and planted on sandy granitic soils. The grapes were harvested by hand, sorted, and gently pressed without destemming in whole-bunches using a pneumatic press. The juice ferments with its native yeasts in stainless steel tank, then rests on the lees for 7 months in a mix of vessels, with weekly batonnage for the first month." - Importer Notes