Best Buys $10 And Under

A bright, straw-yellow colour with intense aromas of fresh fruit. Notes of citrus fruit and aromatic herbs come through with an elegant varietal character. Dry with lively acidity, which enhances its fruit expression, and with length and intensity of flavour. Characteristic Albariño vibrancy.

The Palace of Fefiñanes has been inextricably linked with wine since the 17th century, and it was in the early 20th century that the winery was established as a commercial company. In 1928, the Albariño de Fefiñanes brand and label were created and a truly pioneering project was begun. The unique Albariño grape variety, grown in the Salnés valley, has always taken centre stage in our
wines. We have devoted the utmost care and attention to this variety, ensuring that its special character, extraordinary varietal expression and its uniqueness are perfectly preserved.

Organic

Sleek and well-knit, with a streak of salinity underscoring a creamy mesh of pink grapefruit, cherry blossom, Marcona almond and blood orange peel flavors that linger on the mouthwatering finish.

Sourced from one of the oldest, most traditional vineyards planted in Valdeorras, Avancia Godello expresses the authenticity the history of Valdeorras and the oldest Godello clones in the world. A completely unique white wine that ages beautifully. Godello was almost extinct at the end of the 1980's, so it is extremely rare to find a Godello produced from a single vineyard planted in 1904.

Organic / Natural

90% Godello, 10% Dona Blanca. A young and expressive white that is fruit-driven with refreshing acidity. The wine displays notes of pippin apples, citrus fruit, and pear, with a stony character, and slightly dry finish. The refreshing acidity is mouth-watering. A savory note compliments the finish?. This is a tremendous value and perhaps too serious at this price point.

Natural / Sustainable

93+ points Wine Advocate
The eponymous flagship village white 2023 Albamar… has clarity, purity and transparency, which seems to define the 2023 vintage, and it is floral and perfumed but serious, with a vibrant palate. It is easy to drink, with moderate alcohol, good freshness… and finishes with a salty touch. It's very tasty, one of the finest vintages-if not the finest-for this bottling, which has also grown in volume

Albamar is located on the northwestern coast of Spain where the wines are heavily influenced by the atlantic ocean. Albarino has become one of the great white grapes of Spain and Xurxo Alba has become one of its benchmark producers. He is the living personification of Albarino and his wine is salty and refreshing like the kiss of a mermaid. We don’t know from experience but he does. 12.5% abv

Organic / Natural

85% Mencia 15% Alicante Bouschet (and a pinch of Godello). A medium-bodied expression of Mencia with freshness galore and fine tannins. Gregory Perez’s more natural approach to winemaking is evident when first pulling the cork. A bit of gas releasing is common, nothing a quick decant or pouring two glasses won’t fix. Floral in the nose with bright crunchy acidity on the palate. Red fruit is on full display here with an underlying spice. Unoaked.

94 points Wine Advocate
The 2022 La Salvación is quite tight, serious and a little closed. It's riper and rounder than the 2021, with 13.5% alcohol but keeping the freshness and acidity, with pH of 3.09 and 7.35 grams of acidity. It's juicy and tender, with a chalky sensation in the finish. This is round and very approachable. 7,936 bottles were filled in August 2023, after the wine spent 12 months in 500-liter French oak barrels.

A star is rising in Bierzo! César Marquez Pérez hails from a family with deep roots in the Bierzo wine region. Historical deeds in the town of Valtuille de Abajo date the ancestral origin of the family in this region to 1752. Cesar’s focus is mainly on micro-vinifications of old-vine Godello and Mencía from parajes (small plots). These parajes yield widely differing characteristics depending on their soil composition (mixtures of sand, clay, decomposed granite and stone) and the orientation and slope of the vineyards. Ultimately, Cesar envisions making single-parcel vinifications and is laying the foundation to map this region in a manner parallel to the Cru appellations of the world.

A refreshingly zippy wine. Its bouquet is vibrant, clean and floral with notes of tropical fruit. Good balance and structure on the palate, a touch of acidity and an elegant, fruity, long finish. No oak aging.

94 points Wine Advocate
Even the 2022 La Vizcaína La Vitoriana shows the effect of the warm and dry year with a darker color and higher ripeness and alcohol. It has notes of dark cherries and plums. It's under 13% alcohol, but the sensation of the wine is of higher ripeness. It has a juicy and velvety palate with fine tannins. 10.000 bottles produced

Organic

92 points Wine Advocate
I love the simplicity of the red blend 2020 Candea Tinto, which is straightforward, tasty, juicy and balanced, without any excess or makeup, raw and authentic, with note of wild berries, flowers and herbs and a medium-bodied palate with moderate alcohol and nice balance. Highly drinkable. 14,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2022

95 points Wine Advocate
The 2022 Pico Ferreira was sourced from northeast-facing ancient vines in the village of Corullón on shallow slate soils that deliver small bunches. Each of the three plots fermented separately with their own yeasts with 25% full clusters and 45 days of maceration, and the wine matured in a combination of 500- and 600-liter oak barrels for one year. It's open, expressive and juicy, young and fruit-driven but with complexity and depth, keeping the alcohol to a moderate 13.3% alcohol balanced by a pH of 3.67 and 4.99 grams of acidity. It's harmonious, elegant and serious, with has depth and complexity. 1,908 bottles were filled in January 2024.

Organic / Biodynamic

92-93 points Wine Advocate
The sample of the 2022 Pétalos has a fresh twist of watermelon, which is quite remarkable, as the summer torrid and very dry and they expected much riper wines. Some 25% of the grapes used here are from owned vineyards in the village of Corullón and 80% purchased grapes. They used more white grapes this year, more than any other year, to give the wines freshness. The result is much better than expected; there's not much acidity, but using so many different plots allows more room to play with the blend, which is something they can only do here and in Corullón. It's perfumed and quite harmonious, balanced and fresher than expected. They expect to fill some 290,000 bottles. This is the 20th anniversary of Pétalos and the 25th anniversary of the winery

Natural / Sustainable

Capitán Xurelo is a red blend from many different vineyards. It's produced like of the all reds here, with full clusters that were foot-trodden and fermented with indigenous yeasts. It finished fermenting in barrel and remained there until the next harvest, when it was transferred to stainless steel where it matured for a further eight months. Here, they look for a more austere, perhaps rustic profile. This has tons of notes of acid berries and is light to medium-bodied, with a minty and balsamic touch.