Pazo Barrantes Gran Vino Albariño

Rías Baixas, Spain

Vintage:2022 (Pending)

2019 (Past) | 2020 (Past) | 2021 (Current) |

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Pazo Barrantes Gran Vino Albariño 2022
  • WA 94
  • VFTC 91

Reviews

The Wine Advocate 94 Points July 2025, Luis Gutiérrez

The 2022 Gran Vino Albariño was cropped from a warm and dry year is the third vintage of this new cuvée from their 12 hectares in eight different plots (Cacheiro, Huerta, Besada, Eira, Ferradiña, Ferradura, Tomadiña and Souto) in the Valle del Salnés plus a further hectare rented from the archbishop. The destemmed grapes were pressed and the must left to settle and then fermented in stainless steel for around 43 days. The wine was kept with the lees in stainless steel for four months and then a further eight months without the lees. Fifteen percent of the volume matured in acacia wood barrels. It was kept in bottle for two years before being sold. It comes in at the usual 13.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.35 and 7.15 grams of acidity (tartaric). They consider 2022 an excellent vintage, with very healthy grapes. The wine is very pale and clean and seems to close in the glass. It has a textbook nose of aged Albariño, exuberant and ripe without excess, with perfect development of aromas and flavors, with yellow fruit, flowers and a balsamic touch reminiscent of moss. It has a round and juicy palate, but it's still a little austere, with very good freshness and balance and a salty twist in the finish. With time, it develops more complexity, even notes of licorice. It's still young and undeveloped, especially when tasted next to the 2020 La Comtesse, but it's serious and balanced. A total of 127,820 numbered bottles and 1,956 magnums were produced. It was bottled in July 2023.

View From the Cellar 91 Points June 2025, John Gilman

The 2022 vintage of Albariño from Pazo Barrantes is a lovely wine. As I mentioned in my note last year on the 2021 version, the wine is given nine months aging on its fine lees, with a small percentage of the cuvée aged in acacia barrels, rather than stainless steel tanks. The 2022 version offers up a bright and complex bouquet of lemon, tart pear, salty soil tones, wild fennel, citrus peel and a topnote of dried flowers. On the palate the wine is crisp, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a lovely core of fruit, excellent soil signature and grip, fine balance and a long, precise finish. Good juice. 2025-2035.

Overview

Pazo de Barrantes, a wine that captures the subtle flavor and freshness of albariño, comes from one of the largest single estates in Salnés Valley, Rías Baixas D.O. of Galicia, Spain. The wine’s true albariño character is a direct reflection of the Creixell family’s core values of quality and estate-owned vineyards, paired with a modern winemaking approach and the latest technology.

The grapes used to elaborate the wine are sourced from Pazo de Barrantes estate, with 30 acres divided into 8 different plots located around the winery. The shallow soils of the estate are granitic with sand on the surface and the average age of the vineyard is 40 years. The vines are trained high on supporting wires in the ‘parral’ trellis system (also known as Parron), as is the local tradition, to guard against mildew and rot, and to assist ripening.

Winemaking

After an exhaustive hand-picked selection, the grapes are destemmed and pressed gently and slowly in a pneumatic press. The must is decanted by flotation to ensure greater aromatic purity and then fermented at 10ºC in stainless steel tanks for 43 days. After fermentation, the wine remains in contact with fine lees for four months inside the stainless steel tank.

The wine ages eight months in stainless steel tanks, of which 15% in 225-litre acacia wood barrels followed by 16 months in bottle.

Tasting Notes

Enveloping nose with intense aroma of nectarine and yellow plum, hints of acacia blossom and fennel on a balsamic background. Vibrant and expressive in the mouth, it reveals the freshness of the vintage on a lively palate that leads to a broad and persistent finish.

Food Pairing

Pairs beautifully with grilled queen scallop over truffled potatoes and cavia, mille-feuille filled with smoked eel, white asparagus pudding, white shrimp with mint, marinated sardine, grapefuit jam and blood orange. The suggested serving temperature is 52ºF.

Technical Information

Varietals: 100% Albariño

Wine Alcohol: 13.5%

Harvest Start Date: September 9, 2022

Harvest End Date: September 19, 2022

Bottling Date: July 2023

Soil Composition: Granitic with sand on the surface

Average Vine Age: 40 years