The La Comtesse bottling from Pazo Barrantes is their old vine cuvée, with these Albariño vines having been planted in 1965. The wine is fermented in a three thousand liter oak vat and then aged for the first year in the same vessel, with the wine racked after two months of lees contact and then returned to the large vat. It spends a second year of aging in cement tank. The 2019 La Comtesse is the new release of this bottling and offers up a deep and complex, aged Chablis-like nose of pear, fresh apricot, dried flowers, a touch of beeswax, a nice foundation of soil tones, gentle smokiness and orange peel. On the palate the wine is vibrant, full-bodied and beautifully complex, with fine depth at the core, good soil signature and grip, fine balance and a long, mature and very classy finish. This is really a lovely bottle of Albariño that is drinking with the breed and complexity of full maturity, but has the underlying structure to also continue to age very nicely. Fine, fine juice. 2024-2035+.

“Aromas of mango, lemon zest and orange blossom waft from the glass. Striking pineapple and grapefruit flavors are joined by touches of vanilla and almond blossom that linger into the vivid finish.”

“Medium straw to the eye, this wine has a nose of Gala apple, butterscotch and slivered almond. It is full textured and offers a complex balance of citrus-fruit flavors, acidity and notes of toasted hazelnut. Brilliant orange and lemon flavors linger on the palate with just a kiss of vanilla.”

“The 2020 Gran Vino Albariño, the second vintage after the transformation, is a representation of their property, the eight pagos, or vineyards, they have in their 12 hectares of vineyards plus one hectare they rent. The grapes were destemmed and the must let to settle to ferment in stainless steel for 60 days, followed by two months with lees and seven months after being racked off the lees, then a small percentage was put in acacia wood barrels for a short time to search for more complexity, structure and depth. They found that acacia is a wood in harmony with Albariño, even when newer. The bottles were kept for a further 20 months before being released. It has 13.5% alcohol, a low pH (3.26) and notable acidity (7.2 grams of tartaric acid per liter of wine), and it has finesse and elegance. It's sharp, with great aromatic intensity, less explosive and balsamic than the previous year, a remarkable mid-palate and a long, clean and precise finish. 78,533 bottles and 1,596 magnums were produced. It was bottled in June 2021.”

“The 2018 La Comtesse comes from a vineyard called Cacheiro, 1.4 hectares of their oldest vines (planted in 1965) that deliver lower yields and aim to showcase the aging potential of Albariño. The destemmed grapes were slowly and softly pressed in a pneumatic press, and the juice was let to settle and put to ferment in a 3,000-liter oak vat for some 60 days. The wine was kept in that vat for 12 months, the first two with lees, and then it matured in concrete for a further 12 months before bottling. It has 13.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.4 with seven grams of tartaric acid per liter, very good parameters for a great vintage. It has a bright golden color and a perfumed, complex and elegant nose, with depth and nuance with the complexity of time, moving away from the primary aromas and high acidity of the younger wines. The oak is neatly integrated (the oak is used, and they have reduced the time in oak by two months), and the wine has mellow acidity. It's velvety and elegant, clean, pungent and precise, sharp and electric, very fresh. It has complexity and youth, balance and ingredients to develop in bottle. Time is on its side. 6,672 bottles and 200 magnums were produced. It was bottled in April 2021. It was not released until June 2023, after a good couple of years in bottle.”