The electric and precise Albariños from Nanclares y Prieto are quickly becoming a favorite in the region for us. Sitting with a bottle of A Graña or Fogar do Castriño might leave you wondering whether you’re drinking a coastal Spanish white or Grand Cru Chablis.

Nanclares

Alberto Nanclares settled in Rías Baixas in 1992. Entering the retirement phase of his life, the house he purchased by the ocean happened to have some vines planted, though he originally had no plans for making wine. With some equipment and encouragement from his neighbors, he started producing wine and set up a winery in his garage in 1997.

Fast forward one decade: Alberto had taken over all winemaking responsibilities and moved away from using herbicides and pesticides. In 2009, he met Silvia Prieto, an enologist by trade offering consultations and lab analysis for local wineries. A few years later, she joined as a partner at the winery.

They currently own five hectares of vines in the Val do Salnés, separated into 12 different parcels. They also source grapes from a few other farmers in Rías Baixas to produce several of their bottlings, including the Dandelion, which we believe to be one of the best values in the world of wine today.

With minimal intervention, the wide range of their portfolio is owed to the intricacies of each vineyard site - different terroir, expositions, and vine age demand each plot be vinified in a way that is dynamically chosen each vintage. There is no de-acidification, and often the wines do not go through malo-lactic conversion. The duo will age wines both in vessel and then in bottle as long as they feel is needed for the wines to settle, and be ready to drink.

This is a project of great attention, care and natural introspection, with the aim toward crafting wines of great quality and individuality. 

Sometime in history there may have been someone making Marsannay of equal fame and quality, but I've never heard of them. Sylvain grew up tagging along with his father to Jean Fournier's vineyards, and very much appreciated getting his hands dirty. As a young man, he was able to purchase a single hectare in Marsannay, and became known as a consultant through his experience with lab work right out of oenological school. Slowly growing his estate, Sylvain quietly became known as a wizard with the Aligote grape, though he's quite adept with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Domaine Sylvain Pataille

Marsannay was long known as the gateway to the Cote de Nuits, but beyond that was forever a source of wines that were defined as "approachable" or "easy-drinking", adjectives that are just fine; yet with Pataille, we find wines more befitting of words like "electric," "brilliant" or any other superlative that you favor. Above all, the quality of work in the vineyard is paramount, and the gorgeous textures and complexity his wines possess reward all the hard work. 

Starting with a single hectare in 1999, Pataille now farms 15 hectares across Marsannay, working biodynamically. He’s elevated the region’s Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and is a magician when it comes to Aligoté. Many of the vineyards in Marsannay, particularly those that Sylvain Pataille works with, are considered to have the potential for higher classifications due to their exceptional quality.

In the vineyards, yields are tiny and the vines tended with biodynamic methods. Vines are often incredibly old, dating back to the early 1930s, and Sylvain will retain most, if not all of the whole clusters for his red wines. In the winery, very little is done dogmatically with the elevage; instead the focus is on long, slow extractions to maximize texture, finesse and delicate flavors, and very little sulfur is used throughout. Most fermentations occur in barrel before blending in tank, and the wines are moved incredibly gently to preserve the delicacy. They will age until they are ready to drink by Sylvain's estimation, not a minute too soon for all of us!

Tasting Envinate for the first time interested me in the islands, one of the most unique viticultural sites in Spain and possibly the world (unless you consider Bolivian vines climbing up trees...look it up!). Four vignerons and friends from winemaking school took on a multi-regional mission to elevate and express the terroir of Tenerife (Canary Islands), Galicia, and Almansa. Each expression is pure and nuanced and represents one of the ideal examples of the region.

Envinate

Also be sure to check out the Chingao bottlings which are bottled without any added sulfur whatsoever!

The story of Envínate starts at the University of Miguel Hernández in Alicante, where four friends met while studying enology, eventually leading to the production of wine from a swath of unique vineyards in the Canary Islands, Ribeira Sacra, and Almansa. Roberto Santana, Alfonso Torrente, Laura Ramos, and José Martínez make up the team behind some of the most compelling wines in all of Spain. After forming a consultancy focused on finding abandoned, old vineyards planted to indigenous varieties, the group began vinifying them and bottling under the label Envínate.

Terruño is the name of the game, along with a focus on local varieties—especially in the wines hailing from the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa. Oftentimes, the wines from the Canaries are from ancient, ungrafted parcels co-planted to several native varieties, including some unidentified ones. The wines from Ribeira Sacra are often Mencía-dominated, while the Almansa wines are Garnacha-based.

Fermentation and aging take place in a mix of neutral barrels and concrete tanks. No chemicals are used in the vineyards, and SO2 is kept to an absolute minimum. Each region has a unique identity with savory qualities and haunting aromatics. These are highly individualistic wines from distinct places with complex identities. The Benje line and Albahra are perfect entry points for the style, while the single-vineyard bottlings are as complex and interesting as anything coming out of Spain today.