Is this the season of albariño? Wine editor Jo Burzynska talks to some of the makers of our finest examples about why it’s so exciting at present, and suggests a diverse selection to sample.
It’s salty, fresh, and tastes like summer – albariño is a truly wonderful wine for the
“Albariño naturally partners seafood and sunshine, so it should be on everyone’s shopping list for the New Zealand summer,” says Clive Jones of Nautilus Estate, who has found sauvignon drinkers are easily converted to its charms. “It ticks the boxes as a vibrant white wine that is fresh and zingy like sauvignon blanc, but driven by more citrus and stonefruit flavours, rather than the fresh greens of sauvignon.”
“It’s salty,” states Dave McIntosh of Kenzie Wines, describing what he loves most about albariño. He jumped at the chance to start working with the variety a couple of years back, given textural, subtle whites are what he personally enjoys. “As winemakers we have worked closely with all of the other tastes, sweet, sour and bitterness, but we rarely use salt. Albariño is unique as it relies on a saline character carried along by its acid line.”
This fresh, briny character makes it a great partner to seafood. “The saline aspect of the wine, it’s such a natural match with New Zealand cuisine. We lap it up with local kai moana,” enthuses Neudorf’s Rosie Finn. “I call it the dirty martini drinker’s wine. It’s briny, salty, and so moreish, particularly with kingfish ceviche or fresh oysters.”
It’s also highly compatible with our climate. Originally grown on the cooler Atlantic coastline of northwest Spain, and northern Portugal where it’s called alvarinho, albariño is a variety that thrives in our own maritime conditions.
“We have a great climate for this variety,” states Natalie Christensen of Yealands, who made albariño in Spain before creating one of New Zealand’s benchmark examples.
“Where we grow it at our Seaview Vineyard in the Awatere Valley reminds me of the coastal conditions of the Salnés Valley in Rías Baxias,” she observes. “The cool, moderating breezes from the Pacific Ocean are not dissimilar to the coastal influence of the Atlantic Ocean in Northwest Spain. I think the future is very bright for New Zealand albariño.”
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Advertise with NZME.Another feature in albariño’s favour is its hardy nature, particularly at a time when winemakers grapple with increasingly unpredictable weather patterns. For example, in exceptionally wet vintages, such as 2023 in the North Island, where many varieties struggled, albariño still made some stellar wines.
“As our vintages seem to become more and more moist, I believe albariño could be a very valuable variety in that it is very thick-skinned and resilient,” says Trudy Shield of Shield Wines. Shield made trial wines from some of the earliest plantings of the variety in Nelson back in 2009 when she was winemaker at Waimea. She now makes albariño for her own wine label, loving its “steely acidity”.
Albariño is at the fringes of where it can ripen in Aotearoa’s cooler South Island regions, where its characteristic crispness can be a challenge to tame. However, as growing seasons get ever-warmer and earlier, climate change could see it take off throughout the country. Albariño plantings have been growing, but it’s still a niche variety in New Zealand. With just 75 hectares currently in the ground, it’s a drop in the ocean compared to the vast swathes of vineyards dedicated to sauvignon blanc.
The Albariño Brothers certainly feel it’s going places. Established last year by winemaker friends Ollie Powrie, Shaye Bird and Ant Saunders, Albariño from Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne is the label’s sole focus.
“The albariño grape has found a new home in Aotearoa New Zealand, and the wine world is about to find out,” the trio proclaimed on its launch. With the label soon to release its third Albariño, a textural wild barrel fermented expression, Powrie thinks albariño is the variety of the moment.
“More than ever people are looking for exciting new wine experiences and albariño offers just that,” he says. “By nature, albariño has an adventurous streak and uber-intense flavour walking on a tightrope of zesty acidity.”
“I think this is a really exciting grape for New Zealand,” Rosie Finn agrees. “We’re seeing it in multiple regions, and it’s such a natural fit with our cuisine and lifestyle. It’s not a fussy wine: it tastes elegant and delicious with your toes in the sand and waves crashing on the beach. It feels very harmonious with who we are.”
High styles
Aotearoa’s vignerons have hit the ground running with albariño. Other past newcomers, such as viognier and gruner veltliner, were blighted by stylistic confusion. However, you know what you’re getting with albariño, which has tellingly now overtaken both of these varieties in our vineyards. Aotearoa’s albariños are consistently dry, consistently crisp, often aromatic, and consistently good. I’ve tasted most of them, and have yet to find a disappointing one.
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Advertise with NZME.They also seem to be able to age well, developing more savoury, toasty characters akin to riesling. As noted by Tohu winemaker Anna McCarty, “The wines have an instant young appeal, but also age really well with citrus notes making way for riper stonefruit and subtle beeswax characteristics.”
There is some stylistic range within our albariños, based on where they’ve been grown, with softer expressions from the North Island, getting edgier the further you move down the country. Winemakers are also shaping their albariños with different techniques. Most avoid the new oak, the overt flavours of which don’t sit so well with the variety’s fruit and freshness. Some are seeking to enhance texture and complexity through skin contact, wild fermentation, lees aging and time in older, neutral barrels.
Some great examples to try from around the country
Yealands Estate Single Vineyard Awatere Valley Marlborough Albariño 2024, $30
A very pure local expression of albariño from a coastal site, skilfully crafted by one of our most experienced albariño makers. Its pristine fruit fuses bright lemon, grapefruit and peach, with hints of lemon blossom, a beautifully briny minerality, mouthwatering freshness, and great texture. If you like crisp white wines with character, I guarantee this will convert you to albariño.
From Yealands.co.nz
Kenzie Mangatahi Hawke’s Bay Albariño 2023, $40
Kenzie’s first release of albariño from the organic Hawke’s Bay The Terraces vineyards is intense and savoury. Its elegant notes of pear, hints of honey, herb, white flowers and almond paste are underpinned by a steely acidity and stony mineral character with a lick of saltiness.
From By the Bottle Auckland, Queens Wine Shop Auckland, Cahn’s Wines and Spirits Auckland, Puffin Wine Bar and Shop Wellington, Vino Fino Christchurch
Amoise The Terraces Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Amphora Albariño 2023, $40
Another impressive albariño made from the same vineyard as the Kenzie, but aged on lees in a mix of large spherical and small clay tinajas. Salty, textural and sitting in between a white and orange wine, its mouthfilling stonefruit is underpinned by zesty grapefruit. Its time on skins has resulted in a phenomenally fragrant albariño, with notes of chamomile, jasmine, spice and herb.
From By the Bottle Auckland, Vino Fino Christchurch, Regional Wines Wellington, Fresh Link Grocer Wanaka, Neat Hamilton
Tohu Whenua Matua Single Vineyard Upper Moutere Nelson Albariño 2020, $26
Five years old and as fresh as a daisy, Tohu’s Nelson Albariño shows how elegantly serious examples of the variety can age. With a thrillingly taut acidity, it layers lush stonefruit with lemon peel, hints of pepper and herb, and a touch of attractive mature savoury, toasty and waxy characters.
From Tohuwines.co.nz, The Fine Wine Delivery Company, selected New World outlets, Lacool.nz
Matter of Time North Canterbury Albariño Pet Nat 2024, $34
While sparkling albariño is quite rare even in Spain, its brisk acidity makes it highly suitable for the style. This lightly fizzy, cloudy, organic pet nat was fermented using wild yeasts in large-format oak, before continuing to ferment in-bottle. It melds flavours of seashells and bitter lime, ricocheting around the palate with its ultra zesty grapefruit freshness.
From By The Bottle Auckland, Vino Fino Christchurch, Puffin Wine Bar and Shop Wellington
Albariño Brothers Bell Vineyard Gisborne Albariño 2024, $35
This wine hails from the Bell Vineyard, where the country’s first commercial release of albariño in 2011 was grown. The briny and floral character of this Gisborne example is reminiscent of sea breezes wafting through a line of freshly laundered sheets. A highly floral expression, it’s redolent of jasmine and white flowers, with a touch of lemon balm and pleasant crispness.
From Advintage Havelock North, Vino Fino Christchurch, Bottle O Onekawa, Hamilton Beer and Wine Company
Eidosela Rias Baixas Albariño, Spain 2023, $39
If you’d like to try an Albariño from its Spanish heartland, the newly landed Eidosela is a classy and classic example. From Rías Baixas in Spain’s Galicia region, which is renowned for the variety, the Eidosela’s lemon and apricot fruit is accompanied by an appealing, rockpool-like wet stone and saline character, and it surges with an electric freshness.
From Regional Wines and Spirits Wellington, Hamilton Beer and Wine Company, Liquorland Miramar Wellington
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