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Leirana Albariño 2022

Leirana Albariño

2022
A vibrant albariño
-5%

£21.95

£20.86

/ 0.75 L btl
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    Free delivery over £100
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  • 4.74/5 Evaluation from Trusted Shops

Spec sheet

TypeWhite wine
Region
Grapes
Producer
AllergensContains sulfites
Alcohol contenti13.0%
Production30,000 bottles

The wine

The Forjas del Salnés winery, set up back in 2005 by Rodrigo Méndez with the help of top Bierzo winemaker Raúl Pérez, produces some of the most honest, expressive and exciting wines in the Salnes valley including the wonderful Leirana. They choose only the best grapes from the best plots, often from old vines. Organic agriculture methods are used in the vineyards and wines are aged in pre-used or large wooden barrels. Each plot is vinified separately to understand and interpret its natural character which depends on factors like the soil, location, altitude and proximity to the sea.

Our sommelier recommends this wine for its freshness, lively electric acidity, and minerality. A wine that captures all the essence of old Albariño vines and expresses its utmost respect for the terroir and a splendid potential for improving over time.

Video

What does this wine taste like?

In the glass, it displays a pale yellow colour with greenish glints and offers delightfully clean aromas of white and stone fruits, embellished with flowers and freshly-cut grass. Fresh and agile in the mouth, it has a degree of unctuosity and minerality with a saline sensation thanks to the Atlantic. It offers a varietal character and a splendidly acidic structure, before leaving us with an elegant and slightly bitter finish with hints of citrus fruit and a feeling of wanting another sip.

Light
Bold
Dry
Sweet
Soft
Acidic
View
Pale yellow / Golden glints
Bouquet
Fruit aromas / White fruit / Vine peach / Flowers / Fresh herb
Mouth
Fresh / Flavoursome / Pleasant / Unctuous / Mineral

Drinking and storing

5ºC

Food pairing

Cod / Seafood / Aperitifs / Oysters / Juicy rice dishes

Ratings and awards

202094 PK93 PN
201993 PK92 PN
201894 PK92 PN
201793 PK17 JR92 PN
201692+ PK92 PN
201592 PK92 PN92 SK
PK: ParkerJR: Jancis robinsonPN: PeñínSK: Suckling

Wine critics reviewsReviews by Parker and Jancis Robinson

The vibrant 2020 Leirana was produced with a blend of 60% wine matured in used oak foudre and the rest stainless steel, as the wine has very high acidity (9 to 9.5 grams with a pH of 2.99!) and doesn't go through malolactic; so, it is very sharp, and the higher percentage of oak makes it a little rounder. It's powerful and pungent, serious and with granite minerality, showcasing the serious style of the whites from 2020. It has moderate alcohol (12.9%) and an electric palate that is clean and tasty, with a stony finish. 30,000 bottles produced. There are two lots that are not identifiable, the first of which was filled in March 2021, the second one in July.

— Luis Gutiérrez (28/02/2022)Robert Parker Wine Advocate Vintage 2020 - 94 PARKER

I've seen some of these vines and in winter the spray of the sea lashes their trunks. It's a wine that tastes of the sea. Salt-etched Meyer lemons, citrus fragrance precision-carved into stone, bone dry yet tasting of marmalade. It's a wine that drives so hard and so fiercely that it's knuckle white with tension and yet... underneath, so quiet that you have to stop and listen for it, there is a soft heart, a meltingness of apricot.

— Tamlyn Currin (08/02/2019)JancisRobinson.com Vintage 2017 - 17 JANCIS ROBINSON

Customer reviews

4.4/5
25 reviews
Vintage:

Winemaking

Leirana is fermented in a combination of stainless steel tanks (60%) and oak foudres (40%) where it is left to age for six months. 

Ageing period6 months

Vineyards

Leirana is a single-varietal Albariño wine which uses grapes from different towns in the Salnes valley in Galicia to produce a faithful expression of the region's character. Considered to be home to the very best Albariño, the Salnes valley is the coastal sub-region of the DO Rías Baixas appellation. A wonderful landscape where vines between 40 and 60 years old grow in granite and sandy soils close to the Atlantic.

Vine ageBetween 40 and 60 years
SoilGranit / Sand
ClimateAtlantic