Vertical Tasting: Bodega Carballal's Albariño En Rama

Last week we finally uncorked a vertical of Bodegas Carballal’s Albariño En Rama. And I say finally because, since 2018, we've been saving a couple of bottles from each vintage to share with fellow sommeliers here in Edinburgh at some point with the idea of experiencing how Albariño evolves over time, since we fervently believe in its aging potential.

For those unfamiliar with the work of Bodegas Carballal, they’re a family-run winery set up by Benito Vázquez, one of the founding members of the D.O. Rías Baixas. Today, with Juan Carlos at the helm, seven brothers are responsible for maintaining the family philosophy of making wines that are an authentic expression of their terroir within the Salnés Valley.

They own 9.5 hectares of vineyards which they grow organically, having been one of the pioneering wineries in Rías Baixas to implement green covers over 35 years ago. Juan Carlos studied agricultural engineering, being during those times when he realized about the advantages of not disturbing the soils he works with.

Advantages such as achieving an organic exchange by controlling their weeds reintroducing them into the soil. Green covers also help preventing the erosion of their soils when it rains, thus retaining all the organic matter. Juán Carlos doesn’t plow so the vines aren’t stressed as their roots don’t get damaged. With those practices, there is always an auxiliary fauna in the vineyards that creates a biological exchange too. Furthermore, all the grape pomace returns to the vineyard, and depending on what are the needs of their soils in a given year, they can take specific measures, such as sprinkling powdered mussel shells to inject calcium, or to fertilize the soils using local seaweed. Their work on using the least amount of phytosanitary products possible is also notable.

This entire process in the vineyard is important for the final quality of the wine because Albariño’s pruinosity captures everything, so, for example, if aromatic herbs and wild flowers grow in their fields, these aromas reach the cellar captured in the bloom, resulting in more complex and aromatic Albariños.

Precisely in the cellar, Juán Carlos crafts all his cuvées in stainless steel to encapsulate factors such as climate and soil more truthfully. All his wines undergo a prefermentative skin maceration before kicking the fermentations off spontaneously. Once the musts have finished to ferment, they are allowed to undertake malolactic, thus giving birth to biologically finished wines that are an authentic expression of their terroir.

He also likes to keep his wines with very low levels of total sulfur. In fact, his entry-level wine, 7 Cepas, named in honor of the 7 brothers, has a total of 40 mg/L of sulfur. Despite being well below the maximum levels allowed in organic viticulture (150 mg/L), Juan Carlos felt that he needed a greater challenge because his 7 Cepas, despite being very good, was simply a very ‘decent’ wine.

Thus, Prólogo was born first, and En Rama followed later on. He wanted to go a step further and take on a winemaking challenge where the wines would be vinified bare-chested (aka naturally). Two wines that stem from the same need, but which couldn't be more different from each other, as they respond to two different philosophies of understanding that versatility and plasticity intrinsic to Albariño as a varietal. While Prólogo results in a more direct, more austere, and dry glass of wine filled with those bitter nuances that captivate you, En Rama is a more expressive wine, an aromatic wave that embraces you and sweeps you away.

How are they made?

En Rama is the rawest and purest cuvée produced at this family winery. It's not made with a preconceived idea of keeping it in the cellar for a long time. To make it, Juan Carlos looks for grapes with the best phenolic maturity, a good golden color, and a very ripe skin, so that the polyphenols become its backbone, which will give the wine that bittersweet feeling, toasted notes, and a delicious sense of ripeness.

After a prefermentative skin maceration of approximately 8 hours, the must ferments spontaneously in stainless steel tanks. Once alcoholic fermentation is complete, the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation, resulting in an Albariño like those of yesteryear. The wine remains on its lees for 6 months before being bottled en rama, that is, unfiltered. No sulfites are added at any stage of the process, containing only free sulfites, which remain below 11 mg/L. Despite working with such a naked must, the wines stand out for their absence of oxidative nuances and volatile acidity, which always remains below 0.6-0.7 g/L.

Prólogo, meanwhile, was Juán Carlos' first take on a zero/zero wine. For this cuvée, he sought grapes without that golden color he needed for En Rama. Instead he prioritized phenolic ripeness and higher acidity. A shorter prefermentative maceration was done and the wine was filtered, resulting in a more direct, austere, and sapid wine, full of captivating bitter nuances. It also undergoes malolactic fermentation and remains on its lees for six months.

Generally speaking, and looking for a common thread, I would highlight that all the En Rama benefited from a quick double decanting, as they tend to open up with a slight hint of reduction (both due to the aging method and that bottling en rama). They also tend to be full-bodied and greedy wines, where the autolytic exchange hasn't been as intense as we expected it to be. Despite not being wines crafted to stand up to the passing of time, they passed the test with a great mark. Each vintage has left its imprint on each of the wines, as we detail in deep in Miguel's blog Atlantic Sommelier, click here to find out all about the vertical.

En Rama 2024: This cuvée has been fully pumped up, as it is an Albariño that exudes personality with a deep varietal concentration: mirabelles, pineapple peel, juicy apricots, baked apple, pear peel, candied lemon, white pepper, chamomile, and hints of oyster sweetness. Without a doubt the most exuberant of them all. On the palate, it is silky, iodized, and dynamic. It passes like a warm sea breeze through a full, yet not overly fat body. Perhaps the most immediate cuvée, which, whilst possessing a youthful dynamism, lacks the tension that will make it last over time as well as the others.

7 Cepas 2024: An entry level Albariño that it’s a loyal reflection to what Salnés’ Albariños are. Very straightforward and dignified, with saline notes, a touch of herbal aromatics, and a citrus and green apple character that result in a very enjoyable glass of wine.

Prólogo 2024: A wine with a completely different identity than En Rama. I like its aromatic profile, which highlights sage, bergamot, lime and margarita salt, golden apple, and orange blossom. The palate is vital and vibrant, with an iodized fluidity that gives it the potential to endure over time.

If you want to try or purchase any of the wines, please do not hesitate on sending us an email with the ones you're interested into and we'll forward you with more details as we proudly are Bodegas Carballal's solely distributors in Scotland: info@fionwines.co.uk

Miguel Crunia 

Director at Fìon, Edinburgh

Interviewed by Decanter

#7 Harper's 50 Top Sommeliers UK 2024