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Something of a bargain among the López de Heredia whites, which have increased in price because of a combination of demand and high quality, this is a triumph over the heat and frost of 2017. Made from a parcel of 92-year-old Viura, it has flavours of salt, almond paste, citrus peel and beeswax, impressive extract and an enticingly bitter finish.Tim Atkin | 95 TAThe nose of the 2017 Viña Gravonia Blanco is unmistakably López de Heredia, with those mushroom, white pepper and pollen aromas that remind you so much of the smell in their ancient caves. 2017 was the year of the big frost in April and the scarcity of rain that made it the earliest, scarcest and quickest harvest they have experienced in their recent history. The grapes for this wine were the first grapes picked, the 14th of September, from vines aged 93 years. It fermented in even older oak vats with indigenous yeasts ("We have never added yeasts to our wines," they answer when asked) and matured in used American oak barrels for four years (possibly more looking at the bottling date). Of course, this could qualify as a Gran Reserva, but they keep it at Crianza (to have a range), and it’s sold at a bargain price for its quality and age. It’s characterful and nuanced, with some hints of development (diesel) and a lightish palate with pungent flavors and great harmony. It has the usual parameters: 12.5% alcohol, a pH of three and seven grams of acidity. 20,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2023.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RPAn elegant, scented nose, showing macadamia nuts, light yellow apples and a touch of seaweed. Elegant and fluid on the palate with bright acidity and a long, lightly saline finish. 100% viura. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 93 JSThe 2017 Viña Gravonia is 100% Viura from Haro in Rioja. This aged for four years in old American oak foudres followed by four years in bottle. Due to the severe frost of 2017, it was made mostly from second-flowering fruit. Medium yellow in hue, it delivers notes of resin, gentle oak and hints of herbs and fennel. Saline and medium-bodied on the tongue before a finish of hay and dried orange peel, this is a unique white with a savory, lightly oxidative profile.Vinous Media | 92 VM

Even if already sold out, I also tasted the white 2020 Cullerot because it’s probably their finest vintage for this wine. The nose is very expressive, with notes of flowers, talcum powder, fennel and aniseed, pollen and herbs, with a soft texture combining volume with freshness in a year when the grapes ripened properly. It’s been settled by some time in bottle and feels very harmonious and ready. It has 13.2% alcohol with a pH of 3.23 (the white does not go through malolactic) and feels very balanced, tasty and supple. 40,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2021.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RP(Cullerot Blanco- Celler del Roure) Celler del Roure is blessed with ancient cellars carved into the bedrock below the winery, where past generations fermented and aged the wines in amphorae dug into the stone. They were not used for several decades, but recently the winery decided it would be interesting to see how these amphora wines would taste and started to produce a lineup of bottlings made from these ancient vessels. The Cullerot Blanco bottling is composed of a blend that includes Pedro Ximénez, Macabeo and Malvasia, among other varieties co-planted in the vineyards. The wine starts out fermentation in stainless steel tanks and then is transferred to the amphorae embedded in the rock for six months of aging. The 2020 Cullerot comes in at thirteen percent alcohol and offers up a complex nose of tart orange, breadfruit, lemongrass, lovely soil tones, citrus peel and a touch of honeysuckle in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, nicely ripe and complex, with a fine core, excellent soil signature, zesty acids and a long, complex and very well balanced finish. This is most impressive! (Drink between 2022 - 2028)John Gilman | 92 JG

The 2022 Sesenta e Nove Arrobas, always among my favorite whites from Rías Baixas, feels young and undeveloped, despite being the oldest Albariño in the current range. It has a bright, almost fluorescent yellow color and a very expressive nose, with notes of lees and smoky, white flowers, wet rocks and lots of herbs and is nuanced, complex and elegant. It has a round and seamless palate, with no signs of ripeness or heat. The mouthfeel is austere, serious and mineral, finishing with a chalky sensation of fine granularity. 5,960 bottles produced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RP

Aromas of lemons, pie crust and a salty, minerally edge. Austere yet voluminous, incisive and saline, it shows a medium- to full-bodied structure, with an attractive interplay of freshness and nervy texture that drives the finish. This comes from a vineyard planted on decomposed gneiss soil in Sanxenxo. This wine should evolve beautifully with time in the bottle. Already drinkable. Drink now or hold.James Suckling | 98 JSThe nose of the 2022 Leirana O Pradiño is very expressive and complex, different, with notes of quince, smoke and citrus, and the palate is marked by the soils, beautifully textured, tasty and long, with great balance, a little more volume and a harmonious finish. It comes from a single vineyard in the village of Sanxenxo. The wine matured for 12 months in a 600-liter barrel. 750 bottles were produced. It was bottled in August 2023.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPThe 2022 Albariño Leirana O Pradiño, from Salnés, Rías Baixas, is planted on gneiss soils with ample sun exposure. Golden in color, it reveals resin and ripe stone fruit aromas. Compact on the palate, it shows intense freshness, a creamy mid-palate and a lingering saline finish. Refined and distinctive.Vinous Media | 93 VM

There is a small part of the Salnés where the vines are planted on very fine sandy soils, like beach sand, which is the origin of the 2022 Nas Dunas, fermented and matured in 700-liter oak barrels. Those soils have very good water retention because there’s also schist, and the vines are more resilient, as can be seen in the warmer 2022 when the wine has a contained 13% alcohol, a pH of 3.31 and 7.2 grams of acidity. Of course, it’s more developed and perhaps a little rounder, with peachy aromas and flavors and the ultra-fine texture of the very fine sand. It’s a triumph over the vintage. 1,400 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2023.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThe 2022 Albariño Nas Dunas is from Sanxenxo, Rías Baixas. This aged in 500-liter barrels. Slightly ripe in style, it presents hints of honey, peach and a touch of oak over gentle floral tones. This is attractive and fresh, with tension and a creamy, full expression. The oak shapes the finish, adding wafer notes, richness and depth. This is a well-executed, barrel-aged Albariño.Vinous Media | 95 VMThis has a lovely nose of dried apricots with an herbal touch. The palate is incisive, saline and pretty, showing a touch of maturity yet retaining its freshness and precision. Clean, balanced and quietly complex. From a single parcel with extremely sandy soil. Aged for 12 months in used French oak. Drink now or hold.James Suckling | 95 JS

The 2022 Rioja Blanco bottling from Sandra Bravo’s Bodega Sierra de Toloño is composed entirely from Viura (albeit, with a bit of Tempranillo Blanco co-planted in the vineyard). Ten percent of the cuvée is raised in oak, with the remainder in stainless steel and the wine does not undergo malolactic fermentation. The bouquet wafts from the glass in a precise and complex mix of tart pear, lemon, salty soil tones, white flowers and just a whisper of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is bright, young and full-bodied, with lovely depth at the core, good soil signature, zesty acids and fine focus and balance on the long and nascently complex finish. This is quite tasty out of the blocks, but will gain in complexity with some time in the cellar. (Drink between 2023 - 2040)John Gilman | 91+ JG

Pretty peach and honey scents seduce. Really briney with peach juice, lovely richness: a great example of Albariño. Puts you on assured footing of place. The palate is steely – classically so. Lemon purity and salty stoniness are very appetising and tangy. Nominated by Fiona Beckett.Decanter | 93 DECThe 2022 Albariño is from granite soils in the Salnés Valley. It shows varietal character, freshly cut grass, white flowers and fruit and the roundness of the year, with 13.5% alcohol and balancing acidity. This is bottled after four to five months with lees. It has the Señorans signature. 192,000 bottles were produced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

The 2024 Caneco, which has a new colorful label, screams Albariño from Salnés with that mixture of sea breeze, flowers and freshly cut grass. It’s clean and expressive, and even though it’s still a little young and faintly reductive, it shows great balance and harmony. It has an austere and serious mouthfeel. 16,666 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2025.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

One of the few 2024s in bottle was the 2024 Cíes, a village Albariño from different soils and expositions fermented in neutral barrels of different sizes, where it matured for eight months. The year is characterized by good ripeness; this has 13.3% alcohol and notable balancing acidity and freshness. It’s clean, expressive and serious, with a salty twist and a faint bitter twist in the finish. 15,000 bottles produced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe 2024 Albariño Cíes is from Meaño in Rías Baixas. This is from old vineyards and it fermented in used barrels. Expressive and floral, this opens with intense aromas of pear and white flowers, followed by hints of blossom and pear over time. The palate delivers freshness, sapidity and a subtle saline note. This was recently bottled.Vinous Media | 93 VMThis has notes of white peaches and citrus zest. The palate is medium- to full-bodied, angular and precise, with great fruit volume yet an equally austere, mineral finish. Drink now.James Suckling | 93 JS