Pazo Barrantes 2015

"I caught the 2015 Albariño from Pazo de Barrantes just before bottling, but it had already been blended and clarified, and was in stainless steel to be bottled in the next few weeks. There is a slight hint of carbonic gas. In 2015, which they consider an almost perfect harvest, they have decided to release the wine slightly earlier; some 25 year ago it was released in September and most recently in June, and this 2015 will be released end of April/May; so they took that into consideration when they aged the wine to make it approachable early. 2015 was a warm, early harvest that also helped in that direction. The nose is very expressive with grassy aromas and very balsamic, mixing bay leaf with waxy apples, a little minty, with hints of quince and some white pepper. The palate is quite unctuous, in their style, perhaps amplified by the exuberance of the year, while keeping the freshness and acidity. For comparison's sake I also sampled the 2012, which could be a similar vintage; it is evolving really nicely and gaining complexity. 95,000 bottles should be filled in April 2016".