WINE OF THE WEEK: Pazo de Lusco Albariño 2023, Rías Baixas, Spain

£16.50–£19.80, Soho Wine Supply, Songbird Wines, Master of Malt, Oxford Wine Company, Bon Coeur Fine Wines, Vinoselección UK

This was one of six white wines from Rías Baixas that I tasted, two each from the three key sub-regions of this lush, green, northwestern part of Galicia.

Albariño, the region’s famous grape variety, is probably better known to the world’s wine drinkers than the denomination Rías Baixas, but I’m being careful not to say that I tasted six Albariños, because I didn’t quite. More of that in a moment. For now, let’s dive into my Wine of the Week.

Pazo de Lusco is from the second largest sub-region, the rugged, inland Condado do Tea – ‘County of Tea’, the Tea being a tributary of the Minho river that separates Spain from Portugal. It’s the warmest and driest of the three sub-zones and the wines are richer and more aromatic than the zestier, crunchier wines of Salnes, the largest, coolest and wettest sub-region (also the oldest), which lies on the coast to the north.

Richer doesn’t mean Condado do Tea wines lack any of the vibrancy or citrus and mineral drive of the coastal wines. Lusco, which is fermented with yeasts selected from the producer’s own most historic vineyards, has plenty of lemony, salty zing but leavened by peach, red apple and lime blossom and a nuttiness and smoothness enhanced by ageing on lees (sobre lías, as the label says).

I was equally taken with the other Condado do Tea wine in the line-up, Marqués de Vizhoja Torre La Moreira 2022, but it’s availability is much more limited (£16.99, Fine Wines Direct UK).

The last and the smallest of the three sub-zones, O Rosal, is the reason I said I had been tasting Rías Baixas wines, rather than just Albariño. Lying along the Minho river as it reaches the Atlantic, downstream from Condado do Tea, O Rosal grows other grape varieties, too. Unlike the other two sub-regions, its soils have very little granite, but a vein of metamorphic schist stretches over from Portugal.

One of the O Rosal wines I tasted, Quinta de Couselo 2022, is a blend of Albariño, Loureiro and Caíño Blanco, and very good it is (£19.99, Terra Wines).

When it comes to food, Albariño’s soulmate is seafood, especially shellfish. Both Pazo de Lusco and Torre La Moreira were spot on with the freshest of giant prawns. They would be good with almost any shellfish and with many other fish, from hake to dab to fresh anchovies, from fish cakes to fish and chips to sashimi. Lusco is also a wine for sipping as an aperitif and for the white asparagus season, an idea I was introduced to at El Celler de San Roca in Girona. 12.5%. Empty bottle weight: 422g.

Pazo de Lusco, Lusco Albariño 2023, Rías Baixas, Spain

£16.50–£19.80, Soho Wine Supply, Songbird Wines, Master of Malt, Oxford Wine Co, Bon Coeur Fine Wines; £84 for 6, Vinoselección UK

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