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In the hills above the verdant valleys of Rías Baixas and Vinho Verde, September 2025.

Rías Baixas: Where the vines are trained high to allow air flow under the vines.

Our group got to experience the 1989 Granbazan, the first vintage produced.

Does that look like 35 year old white wine to you? Me neither!
Wow was that wine incredible. It tasted like Grand Cru Burgundy!

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Hi everyone –

Last week we checked another one off the list: exploring Rias Baixas in far Northwestern Spain. Here’s a quick overview of the area and things you should know, followed by an amazing offer on my favorite winery of the region.

Rías Baixas: where it is and what it’s like

Rias Baixas is just north of Portugal, across the Minho River, encompassing Northwestern Spain. It’s an area best known for the end of the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage routes, along with the amazing seafood coming out of the deep inlets on the coast.

This is “Green Spain,” so called because of the rainfall, abundance of water (unlike the rest of Spain), and green lushness everywhere you look. During our days there, the air was thick and the mornings damp. Think of the coasts of Oregon and Washington, where the weather systems of the Pacific hit land and release their water content … same thing here.

The grape varieties grown here have proven to be resilient to this humidity, which is often a curse for winemakers and grape growers. (Note many of the same grape varieties are found in Vinho Verde in northern Portugal, just under slightly different names). Thicker skins and ingenious farming (more on that in a bit) make these wine possible.

Just like in Vinho Verde on the Portugal side, there is a long history of red wines in the area that has all but disappeared in the last 30 years. The reds of the peninsula tended to be very high in acid, sharp, intense, and great with the local foods. But if you happen to be out of the local area, having no food with the wine, and/or just not ready for the experience, it can be a tough drink.

The Farming in Rias Baixas

The average size of a farm in this area is just over two acres. And on that two acre plot, a family would traditionally have corn or wheat, tomatoes, veggies, a couple fruit trees, a cow for milk, a goat, many chickens, and of course grapes. To keep the grapes from being eaten by the animals, and (more importantly) impacted by the humidity, the vines are trained in cordons that are elevated above the farm. The wind whips through the farm, drying out the grapes as they hang above your head. You see this all over the place in Rías Baixas!

As a result of the micro-farms, many families sell their grapes to the local co-op and many Albariño brands you see in America are coming from those co-ops. Some are great, don’t get me wrong, but most are perfectly average because the winery has no say in the farming practices.

This is what makes Granbazán different.

Our visit to Granbazán

When Granbazán was founded in 1981, it was with the goal of elevating Albariño into world-class status. At the time, almost all Albariño was poorly made, oxidative, and often smelled of canned Dole fruit. A small handful of producers at the time (including Do Ferreiro and Lagar de Cevera, two other top-level wineries) focused on quality over quantity and slowly started to move the needle, along with Granbazán.

Cold temperature fermentation, smoked mussels, and jamon with melon at Granbazán.

One look at the Granbazán facility and it’s obvious they are playing a different game. The only focus is Albariño, done in a range of styles. The facility is squeaky clean (so important for aromatic wine making). And the proof is in the bottle, including the first wine they ever made in 1989 (more on that later).

Granbazán: three wines,
and what makes them distinct and different

“The top Albariño made” is a big statement, for other producers such as Do Ferreiro and Lagar de Cevera are incredibly well regarded. But in my humble opinion, nothing can touch the wines of Granbazán. If you travel to this region and start asking around at the best restaurants and their sommeliers, you’ll hear the same thing. A few messages sent to friends who live in northwestern Spain confirmed this.

Founded in 1981, Granbazan was the original quality pioneer in the region, the first estate to invest in modern winemaking equipment and trained enologists, the first to use clean, free run juice and cool fermentation to realize the world class potential of the Albariño grape. Today, Granbazan remains ahead of the chasing pack, with its privileged terroir of granite soils planted with mature vines close to the sea, and its continuing commitment to excellence.

http://europvinusa.com/granbazan/

What is the difference between these two wines? It’s all about the lees.

The “lees” are the spent yeast cells left over after primary fermentation. “Aging on the lees” is something you hear about in Champagne and Muscadet, but it’s pretty standard throughout the wine world. When you age the wine on the lees, it develops protein strains as the yeast breaks down in the juice, resulting in a touch of creaminess that can help balance out the high acid in some wines.

When you combine the citrus and apple aromas with the saline minerality of Albariño from Rias Baixas, a bit of lees aging can make some magic happen. 

BUT THE BEST PART OF THIS OFFER is that you can buy a bottle of each and learn for yourself what different levels of lees aging will do to a wine.

The Granbazán “Etiqueta Verde” Albariño (“the green label”) is aged for three months on the lees. It’s bright, flashy, alive, racy, and fabulous.

The Granbazán “Etiqueta Amber” Albariño (“the amber label”) is aged for eight months on the lees. It’s rounder, a bit richer, soulful, yet still dancing on the palate.

Both are incredibly delicious but serve different purposes. The green label is for dishes that you’d squeeze a lemon on top of (think a nice piece of salmon), the brown label is for dishes where you might not (think roasted chicken or grilled halibut … of course, you could squeeze lemon on those but I think you get my point here).

The Crème de la crème: the uber-rare Granbazán Limousin
(only 18 bottles available)

It’s one of the most expensive wines to come out of Rías Baixas, and it’s worth every penny. It’s a serious contender for one of the top white wines in the world. And when you compare that statement to the price of Burgundy, it’s a bargain.

The Granbazán Limousin is, hands down, one of the best white wines made on the planet and has an aging curve that makes you not worry about it sitting in your cellar too long. In fact, like Grand Cru white Burgundy, it starts to really show its stuff at about ten years of age.

The best fruit from the best parcels are carefully hand-harvested, crushed, and aged on the lees in oak barrels from the Limousin forest in France. The naturally intense acidity of Albariño ensures the wine remains fresh and bright while developing soul and texture over time. When the moment is right, the wine is bottled and aged further before release. It’s an explosion of citrus-meets-orchard, and will leave you speechless.

Buying and pairing advice

At the very least, I’d buy the two-pack of the green and amber label to compare the wines side-by-side. If you’re really into white wines, consider the six pack (three of each).

For food pairing, this is ideal for shoulder-season drinking but especially with seafood. Here’s a perfectly simple seared scallop recipe from Tastes Better From Scratch that would be perfect with these wines: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/seared-scallops/

Regarding the Limousin, anyone super serious about wine should have this in their cellar. Then pop it for your wine geek friends and watch their eyes roll into the back of their heads.

Thank you!

Jason Kallsen
Sommelier and founder/owner of Twin Cities Wine Education

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Offer and special pricing are available as inventory lasts