Albariño finds suitable new home in South America

Albariño is finding a new home in coastal Chile and elsewhere in South America as producers trialling trendy, cool-climate varieties have found that this Iberian grape offers a particularly suitable solution.

Among the plantings of Albariño outside Spain is one last year by Chile’s Garcés Silva, which has chosen the variety for the San Antonio Valley, specifically its sub-region called Leyda, making it the first Albariño vineyard in this part of northern Chile.

Speaking exclusively to the drinks business about the decision to plant Albariño in this Chilean wine region, Garcés Silva winemaker Diego Rivera said that the combination of an ocean influence and granite-based soils in San Antonio encouraged him to try the grape, which is most closely associated with northwest Portugal and Spain, specifically the Rías Baixas DO, where it thrives near the Atlantic on granitic soils.

“We really think Albariño can be great here in a nice granitic site and influenced by the Pacific nearby, and it means we can add to the diversity of whites we grow here in Leyda,” he told db.

To further enhance the range of cool-climate grapes found in Leyda, last year Rivera also planted Chenin Blanc – a variety famous for its fresh long-lived whites from its home in the Loire Valley, including sparkling, as well as dry and sweet still wines.

He added that he may use the grape as a base for producing traditional method fizz, but pointed out that the first harvest for both the Albariño and Chenin Blanc won’t be until 2022.

Meanwhile, former head winemaker at Chile’s Cono Sur, Adolfo Hurtado, revealed an ambition to produce the country’s first Albariño, telling db he was looking for a site in the south of the country, although it is thought that this plan never came to fruition.

Elsewhere in Latin America, Albariño has taken root successfully in Argentina’s south Atlantic coast, with Bodegas Trapiche planting the grape back in 2015 in a region called Chapadmalal.

The wine is now being sold under its Mar y Pampa brand, meaning “sea and grass”.

Albariño has also proved suitable for a further coastal site in South America, with the grape performing particularly well at Uruguay’s Bodega Garzón, which is a remarkable estate 18km inland from fashionable coastal village José Ignacio, which itself is near the much larger resort town of Punta del Este on Uruguay’s Atlantic coast.

Standing alone on a hilly terrain, Bodega Garzón spans 210 hectares of high-density vines on free draining gravel-like decomposed granite soils – which is the oldest granite on the planet.

At the moment, Bodega Garzón make two types of Albariño, with the pricier version hailing from a 10-year old single vineyard, that is fermented in a tulip-shaped concrete tank, and kept on its lees for 8-9 months. 10,000 bottles have been produced of this expression since its inception in 2015.

As previously reported by db, Bodega Garzón is to make a flagship white wine from Albariño fermented in a cigar-shaped oak barrel – meaning that Uruguay’s most expensive white will be an Albariño.

Finally, back in the grape’s home region, producers are experimenting too, with Spain’s Familia Torres set to launch an Albariño from Galicia’s Rias Baixas that has been fermented and aged in egg-shaped vessels made from granite.

The variety originates from northwest Portugal (particularly Vinho Verde sub zones of Monção and Melgaço) or over the border in Galicia, northwest Spain, where, according to Wine Grapes, it was once exclusively cultivated as Alvarinho and Albariño respectively.

The largest vineyard area is found in Spain, where more than 5,300 hectares of Albariño can be found today, followed by Portugal, with more than 2,300ha.

The grape is particularly fashionable in the UK, with sales of Albariño from its heartland of Rías Baixas soaring in the UK, with 2019 sales up 42% on 2018.

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