Albariño from the far northwestern Spanish region of Rías Baixas has taken the wine world by storm. At their best, these crisp, mineral wines balance perfectly between ripe fruits and salty sea breezes. But with success comes commodification, and unfortunately a lot of Albariño hitting these shores is either very average, or expensive, or both. That’s why we were simultaneously exhilarated and relieved when the Mar de Envero “Troupe” appeared on our tasting table recently. A delicious, textbook Albariño from a talented young winemaker, that is also refreshingly affordable? Sign us up! Oh, and it happens to land just as spring is arriving and we’re all ready for sunny weather and outdoor fun. It’s been a good while since we’ve found an Albariño deal like this, and we have no idea when another will cross our path, so take advantage and stock up now!
Mar de Envero is essentially a one-man passion project founded by Miguel Ángel Moreira. Miguel spent his formative years working in vineyards and cellars throughout Northern Spain, learning as much as could along the way. Manyo, as he is known to friends and family, is also an avid surfer, and one day he was surveying a vineyard where he was working and noticed that the veraison (when the green grapes begin to change color) seemed to be progressing like a wave. It was a “sea of veraison,” or in Spanish “mar de envero.” Armed with that vision, and an appealing name, too, Manyo returned to his native Galicia and began acquiring vineyards on the far western coast, as close to the Atlantic as possible, because of course he had to keep surfing too!
Albariño is grown throughout Galicia, a.k.a. “Green Spain,” but as we’ve preached on numerous occasions, the very best expressions are found in vineyards growing very close to the Atlantic near the border with Portugal, around the ancient city of Pontevedra. This is Rías Baixas, and it was the perfect spot for Manyo to set up shop and begin farming grapes and making wine. Although wine grapes have been growing in the Rías Baixas for centuries, it was only in the early 1980s that the region began to modernize its wine production, and they didn’t receive official DO recognition until 1988. Since then vineyards and wineries have proliferated, and production levels have soared as the wines have found their way to restaurants and shops all over the globe.
That type of commercial success has nothing to do with what inspired Manyo to return home and make wine on the Atlantic coast. He looks to the age-old traditions of Rías Baixas while also pulling from his experiences working with cutting edge winemakers throughout Spain. He farms his small plots, a total of about six and half hectares, without chemicals and uses only organic sprays (copper and/or sulfur) when absolutely necessary. Along with the Albariño he farms small amounts of local reds, and in general he is prone to both experimentation and hands-off winemaking in the cellar.
“Troupe,” however, is his purely classical expression of Rías Baixas Albariño. The hand harvested grapes are given a brief cold soak before they are gently pressed into stainless steel tanks and fermented with native yeasts. After aging on the fine lees for a few months the wine is bottled with a light filtration. Manyo’s love of surf, sand, and sea are very much at the forefront here as the soil in the vineyards is very sandy, with a bedrock of granite lending structure and minerality. Serve “Troupe” on the crisp, cool side in an all-purpose stem and enjoy the rush of ripe fruit and bright acidity: Yellow peach, barely ripe mango, lemon-lime zest, beeswax, raw almond, green peppercorn, and a healthy pinch of sea salt are all present on the nose as the snappy, silky texture finishes with a flourish of minerals. It’s a perfect wine for whatever is fresh from the water, or to enjoy all on its own after a day riding waves, or maybe just walking in the sand.
