Just 24 hours after the 2023 Vintage in DO Rias Baixas was classified as ‘very good’ the wines of the Galician vineyards were on show in the SH Palace Hotel in Valencia to a select group of 400 professionals.

This was our third invitation to attend the DO’s prestigious ‘showrooms’, having attended in Las Arenas in 2016 and the Westin in 2019. Valencia was chosen to host once again because the Community is a major buyer of their wines.

Rias Baixas was created in 1988 and is one of five Denominations in the North East of Spain, covering 4321 Hectares in five distinct sub-zones and producing some 9.5 million litres of wine.

Just six local to-area grape varieties are used, Albariño, Loureiro Blanca, Treixadura, Caíño Blanco, Godello, and Torrontés. Of these Albariño is considered the pillar, often being used as a monovarietal but also using some of the others as ‘salt and pepper’ seasoning in small quantities in blended wines. Godello and Treixadura also appear as single-varietal wines where conditions allow it.

This part of Spain is dominated by the Atlantic Ocean which plays its part, together with stony soils with a high mineral content and very little natural organic matter in defining the dry wines the area produces. Generally, the wines are pale yellow with a steely clear centre, varying on the nose between mineral and white stone fruit notes, sometimes displaying petrol notes, and often (having spent time on the lees with regular agitation) citrus, white peach, melon, and even tropical notes such as pineapple and mango with floral notes such as honeysuckle.

They are usually notable for being crisp, bone-dry, fresh, and very elegant, something which adds to their popularity and makes them a perfect match with seafood, shellfish, and fish stews. The salty and mineral notes are sometimes compared to  Manzanilla sherry making the better wines compatible with crab, octopus, and grilled sardines.

Some 44 bodegas participated in this event, showing around 80 distinct wines in ‘Wine Tunnel’ format, where the host hotel sumiller staff dispense tasting samples but the bodegas are not directly represented by their wine-makers, owners, sales staff, or distributors. Information is available on each wine by QR code but asking questions not dealt with in the information provided is not possible.

The wines were divided into eight tables, each with 8 or 9 wines on them.

We decided to concentrate on wines with time spent on the lees. From table one we particularly enjoyed the Morgadío and Davila Rosal.

On table two Gran Bazan, Attis, and Altos de Torona with three monovarietal wines and the ‘Rosal’  blend stood out.

On table three the elegant Laxas, Castro Martín ‘Sobre Lias’, and the wines from Fefiñanes (especially the oaked 1583) together with Eidosela’s well-balanced offering were the go-to wines.

Table four held some of our favourite and better-known wines, Fillaboa, Martín Códax, and Santiago Ruiz´s two offerings.

Table five was host to the well-known Terras Gauda, Bouzo do Rei and the Arousana coop wines of Paco & Lola whose  ‘Ophalum’ stood out.

We loved the ‘Davide’ and ‘Observador ‘ from Acha, the Pazo de Seoane was extremely elegant.

Two wines ‘screamed out’ from the seventh table. Pazo de Rubianes was very expressive both on the nose and in the mouth, as was the Señorio de Rubiós Albariño.  

Finally from Table eight, Terras de Lantaño was very good but the favourites here were Moraima and Adegas Gallega’s  Don Pedro de Soutemaior, this latter an explosion of fruit in the mouth with a very long finish.

Though not our favourite format for ‘showroom tastings’ this was a very good and timely reminder of just how good the wines from Galicia are!