Bodegas La Cana - Albarino 2023
Price: $21.98
| Producer | Bodegas La Cana |
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Galicia |
| Subregion | Rias Baixas |
| Varietal | Albarino |
| Vintage | 2023 |
| Sku | 54783 |
Bodegas La Cana Description
Jorge Ordóñez is the United States’ most important pioneer for the Albariño grape and D.O. Rias Baixas, as he was the first person to introduce this grape and region to the U.S. in 1991. Told he would never sell more than 100 cases of Albariño in New York City, he persevered, and now owns a winery in the Valley of Salnés, the best appellation of D.O. Rias Baixas.
Named for the straw-like canas (reeds or canes) that line the shores of the Atlantic inlets that carve into the granite coast of Galicia, the winery’s philosophy is to produce a traditional, authentic, and serious Albariño, in the style of the artisan wines that Ordóñez discovered when he first arrived in the appellation in 1991.
When Jorge first travelled to Rías Baixas, the D.O. did not officially exist. What he found was a rich culture of family viticulture and winemaking. Most families had small plots of Albariño planted on pergolas built with posts taken from the mother rock – granite. Most of this Albariño was fermented and aged on the lees in large chestnut foudres.
- Viticulture: Traditional dry farmed viticulture. Planted in the pergola system. Cultivated completely by hand.
- Soils: Very acidic sandy soils originating from the granite mother rock.
- Climate: Atlantic climate. Very humid for the majority of the year with warm summers. Influenced by the gulf stream.
- Winemaking: Hand-harvested and stored in small baskets. 25% fermentation by indigenous yeast in French oak puncheons and demi-muids (500-600 L. barrels, respectively). 75% fermentation in stainless steel tanks.
- Aging: 8 months sur lie in the fermentation vessel. 25% in puncheons and demi-muids and 75% in stainless steel, with battonage.
- Comments: La Caña is a wine that Jorge Ordóñez and his winemaking team craft to demonstrate the potential that Albariño shows as a high quality, serious wine. As Jorge was the first person to export this variety, he has a tremendous passion and appreciation for Albariño, and as a result, feels the variety should be used to produce serious wines. La Caña demonstrates the complexity, intensity, and longevity Albariño can achieve when sourced from old vineyards and using serious winemaking practices.
