2024 Granbazan Etiqueta Verde Albarino Rias Baixas 750 ml

Not long ago, the New York Times asked: “Is Albariño the Next Great White Wine?” The answer, of course, is a resounding yes—and Albariño stalwart Granbazán is “one of the very best wineries in [its] region,” according to Decanter.

Granbazán has risen to the top on the strength of its classic terroir—you can see the ocean from their winery—and their forward-thinking attitude in the cellar. The water’s influence can be felt in the texture of their wines. Energetic, with lime zest and oyster shells, and soulful with notes of peach blossom, this bottle finishes with the unforgettable hint of salinity that only the best Albariños boast.

Rías Baixas, in the far northwest of Spain, doesn’t look like a postcard from the land of bullfights and Jamon Iberico. With its lush green hills cut through with rivers and the rolling coastal landscape, the area has more in common with County Cork than Campo de Borja. But for us, what sets Rías Baixas apart from the rest of Spain is the wines: This is white wine country, and it’s where some of the best, most interesting, most seafood-friendly bottlings are produced. And none of them fit that description better than Albariño.

Granbazán possesses 35 acres of some of the best terroir in Val do Salnés. Stiff ocean breezes take the sting out of the bountiful Spanish sun, infusing grapes with sea-spray freshness and oyster-shell salinity. The poor soils drain effortlessly, all but eliminating the risk of mildew.

Although the winery, founded in 1988, is a baby by Spanish standards, it has developed a deserved reputation as one of the most forward-thinking and proactive producers in all of Galicia.