Since the very first time that I tasted the grape must of our 2022 vintage I must confess that I was very enthusiastic (or perhaps it would be fairer to say that, at that point, I thought it had great potential). We had enjoyed some pretty good vintages in both 2019 and 2020, although I have to say that I was never completely enamoured with our 2021’s (which was quite a difficult year).

A year or more down the road, after several months on its lees followed by a few months in bottle our 2022 is only just now starting to show its real identity. (I have said for a long time that it really takes a year from harvest, for our wines to realise their potential, and our 2022 Castro Martin certainly does not disappoint).

In Tim Atkin’s recent, and very comprehensive review of the 2022 vintage in Rias Baixas, he awarded our Castro Martin Family Estate 93 points and commented: “Unfiltered and lees-aged, this unwooded Albariño hails from Salnés Valley vineyards grown on a combination of granite, schist and sandy soils. Fuller flavoured and more textured than
the 2021 release, it has notes of oatmeal, pear, lime and kiwi fruit and the focus and salinity that come with the territory in this part of Rías Baixas.” He recommends drinking between now and 2027, clearly showing great faith in its ageing potential.

Apart from this positive review and the points, our Castro Martin also appeared on Tim’s ‘Podium’ of awards for different categories of the 2022 vintage. He rated this wine as ‘Value White Wine of the Year’ (bearing in mind that many of the wines above ours in the general ratings are premium cuvées, older vintages, limited editions and special elaborations, that attract a much, much higher price in the market. As a former wine buyer myself I am very proud of this accolade as  we always preach that quality/value is a very key point in the philosophy of our Bodega.

Of course, this score can be added to the 92 points that we also received for our Family Estate 2022 in the Guía Vino Gourmets 2024. I highly recommend that you buy a bottle (or two) to savour with your favourite marisco!

THE BUYER MAGAZINE – August 2023

5 Top albariño wines that should be on your radar…..

Bodegas Castro Martin, Family Estate 2020, Cambados, Val Do Salnés

One of the 30 founding wineries of the DO, this producer celebrated its first vintage in 1982. This was a time where it was widely accepted that wines from Rías Baixas needed to be drunk within 6 to 12 months. Bodegas Castro Martin went against tradition, ageing their wines on the lees for 6-8 months and not releasing them to the market until May the following year. Their mantra that Albariño does have ageing potential has finally been accepted by some producers across the region, and they remain one of the champions of this style. On the nose you’re still getting fresh apples, pears, peaches, lemons, but this time with a touch of smoke. Regardless of ageing, there is saltiness and this fabulous acidity and minerality from the soil. Apparently an utter joy with a plate of oysters.

Yesterday we welcomed a small, but important group of UK journalists to our bodega (as part of their two day tour of our denomination). Arriving at 9.30am, we were the very first bodega on their itinerary and at that time in the morning there can be nothing better to rinse the coffee and toothpaste from your palate than a refreshing glass of albariño! As I think I may have mentioned before, the first sample of any tasting can often be a tough one, as it often takes the palate a little time to adjust. Having said that, after an hour and a half of chatting and tasting I would like to think that our wines were well received and that they left Castro Martin with a favourable impression of what we do.

When they eventually left our bodega the weather was not only sunny, but it was also quite warm and humid, and so it remained for much of the day. This morning, however, as we opened our shutters, it was raining, and the temperature had dropped by nearly 10°C from the previous day’s high. As our UK friends started their second day I was thinking that perhaps this experience will give them a greater understanding of the vagaries of our climate, albeit that from our point of view, this is really not the way that we would want people to learn. As a result, I have no doubt we will be obliged to treat our vineyards (yet again) within the coming days.

In recent times I have noticed that a few reputable journalists have started to question our popular, and sometimes long-held beliefs about wine. Some of the doubts being raised are, for example, the use of points to rate wines, and more recently, the development and definition of ‘natural’ wines.

As you may already know I have never been a big fan of wines being rated or categorised by points – there are just too many possible anomalies. Some fear that the worldwide influence of the points system will eventually mean that certain styles will dominate (and possibly all taste that same), and that lighter wines could lose out, simply because they are less likely to get a attract good scores. Wine shop managers sometimes dismiss ratings as overly simplistic — numbers devoid of context, such as a wine merchant’s sense and knowledge of individual customer tastes. Finally, I have to add that over the years, points and medals have occasionally (in a few proven cases) been abused in order to mislead consumers. Conclusion? That the points system just might not be as effective as we have all come to expect.

It is the lack of official regulation or certification for using the phrase “natural wine” that has now created something of an existential crisis. It’s up to winemakers and those who sell, promote and drink their wines to decide whether a bottle fits the ‘natural’ bill. In an effort to distance themselves from this watered-down, misused and sometimes abused term, some producers who truly work with minimal intervention are now turning their backs on this new movement as a whole. For consumers, that only results in further muddying of a term and ideology that’s already steeped in confusion.

In our business we already have organic, biodynamic and sustainable wine making – the first two of these can be certified, and the third simply relies on producers to use common-sense and mindful wine making practices. However, this should not mean that we abandon or ignore the advances in wine making technology that has been made over the last decades – certainly we all want wines with character, but we also want wines that are reasonably stable and will not fall-apart too quickly!

For once, when I say that we are “in the 90’s”, I don’t mean our weather, but rather our wines!

As you must know by now, I have never been a great fan of wine awards and the Parker point system. Indeed, it would appear that I am not alone in this new way of thinking. Only this week the well-known and respected food and wine critic of the New York Times, Eric Asimov wrote (and I quote verbatim): “Dreary scores and tasting notes are of little long-term use to consumers. What they need most are inspiration and liberation”. On my part, when people ask me what wines they should drink, my advice has always been the same. Drink what you enjoy; and I say that simply because I know that everyone’s palate is different. And of course, that’s just one of the joys of wine – don’t be afraid to pull a few corks and judge for yourself! (Don’t let someone else judge for you).

Meantime, back at the tastings, we actually submitted three wines to this year’s Guia Peñin 2020. It’s not so much that we are desperate for points or publicity, but it’s merely a yardstick for us, to see where we stand. We didn’t do too badly either. All three wines, Castro Martin Family Estate, A2O and Casal Caeiro emerged with 90 points – consistent if nothing else! The interesting point is, that when comparing the price points of the other wines at 90 points or above, our wines were by far the best value for money. And that’s what it’s all about…. great quality at a fair price.

There are some days when I read something that someone writes about albariño, that well, just leaves me scratching my head in puzzlement. For the purposes of this post there is absolutely no need to name name’s or to point accusing fingers, but simply read this and see if you agree.

“If you like Sauvignon blanc, you will love Albarino. It is like a red in white’s clothing. This is the most widely planted white grape variety in Spain. It is rich and full-bodied like a red wine but tart and crisp on the finish like a white.”

In all my year’s in the wine trade I have never heard of any white wine being described as a red in white’s clothing, let alone an albariño. Rich and full-bodied like a red? I really have no idea what this means, because in my opinion it’s certainly not accurate and possibly even misleading. Perhaps I am just living in the wrong universe, or maybe just speak a different (wine) language!

But thereby lies the problem. Sometimes a little knowledge in the wrong hands can be a dangerous thing, especially in the age of the internet where any individual can potentially have easy access to a large audience. Having said that, I am sure that this type of commentary is not unique to the wine business.

I was reading a post on the Facebook page of our D.O. There is an interview with the ‘SpanEnglish’ actress Belinda Washington. To be honest I had never heard of her – possibly because despite being born in the UK, she now works as a television actress in Spain.

In the interview she was saying how much she loves Galicia and the food and wine – drinking her lovely, fresh albariño with scallops, lobster, fresh fish and…… hedgehog! I was shocked.

Of course, I then realised what had happened. The default language on my computer is English, and sometimes Google will automatically offer me a translation. Now, strictly speaking, in the context of what was written, the translation was correct, it did indeed say hedgehog, the subtle difference being that ‘erizo’ means hedgehog, whereas ‘erizo de mar’ is actually a sea urchin. Although the article really did say erizo, I would assume that they didn’t really mean hedgehog. (Or perhaps it’s a delicacy that I have missed and could be the prefect marriage for our albariño!)

Following my latest post about the cost of producing a bottle of wine, I have just read a very interesting article written by an old friend of mine – UK wine journalist Tim Atkin MW. Although he is not actually commenting directly on the production costs of wine he is, in effect, talking about the price pressures often put on producers to reduce their selling price (and certainly their profit margin). If this downward pressure is allowed to continue then, inevitably, the only thing that can and will suffer, is the quality of the liquid in the bottle.

In the final line of his article he says “More than ever, we need a strong independent sector to preserve diversity, quality and individuality.” In this case he is referring to independence in the retail sector, but allow me to say that the very same phrase could easily be applied to the wine producers themselves.

He is a link to Tim’s full article.

So what exactly is a wine ‘influencer’ – who are they, what do they do, and where do they come from? Perhaps, before the internet, this was a simple question to answer. ‘Opinion makers’ were respected journalists (from newspapers or wine magazines) or perhaps very highly regarded authors. These days however, the picture has changed quite a lot, and the definition is no longer quite so clear.

Nowadays, by using social media, almost anyone with a little wine knowledge (sometimes little more than the average man in the street), can become an ‘authority’ on wine. With a plentiful number of web contacts these contributors can quickly build a following, eventually to the point where they can influence wine trends and buying habits.

There is a saying I believe, that too little knowledge can be a dangerous thing (in the hands of the wrong people), and that’s what worries me a bit. Whilst I do applaud many of the latest generation of bloggers and wine ‘influencers’, it’s just that sometimes when reading their posts I will come across wine ‘facts’ that are either misleading or just plain wrong. The problem is that in trying to over-simplify the subject, they are sometimes just publishing ‘fake wine news’ (or should I say fake wine facts). Simplifying the mystery of wine is of course really, really useful, and a great way to learn, but along with this goes a responsibility for making sound, accurate research and ensuring that what is being published to the world as facts, are indeed factual.

An award-winning and well-respected wine writer once told me: “Influencers is a term for those who have more readers than facts, more opinions than experience, and an audience not bright enough to know the difference”. This view might appear to be quite harsh, but I believe that the underlying message is quite simple – get your facts straight before you publish them otherwise your post might only serve to confuse your readers.

[:en]OK, perhaps I am biased, but I have to admit that I am rather fond of our 2016 Family Estate wine. That’s not to say that I don’t normally like it, it’s simply that I think that the 2016 is singularly good. From their tasting notes below, I would say that our Australian friends appear to think the same. This is perhaps one of the most detailed tasting notes I have ever read, and to be honest, I haven’t even heard of half of the fruits that they mention!

Castro Martin Family Estate ‘Sobre Lias’ 2016

A fine sandy colour with a touch of green, this is a young varietal Albariño with a significant future.

A golden fruit nose carries granitic sand’s talcy-minerality. The fruit is sliced apple and nashi flesh with a hint of spicy breakfast radish and waft of paddymelon skin. To taste, the gorgeously rounded prickly pear fruit has an enlivened sweet-sour tug, thanks to a tangle of subtle green elements – tarragon, watermelon skin, mint, lime. But the mouthfeel really is the thing! At first, trademark Salnes Valley acidity is prominent, along with Atlantic saline and granitic edginess – these are textural and flavoursome, far from simply sharp, and house a wine of great fleshy depth. Below and within the acid frame, a surprisingly powerful bell of lively, spiced rich fruit pushes out, revealing the hidden, raw power of Albariño, from a very fine tank of supremely textural fruit. Astonishing already, with 2-3 years of positive development ahead of it, this delicious wine sets a new benchmark for Albariño.

A recent article from the Wine Enthusiast would also appear to support the’typicity’ of this wine:

Val do Salnés: The Birthplace of the Grape

[:es]OK, perhaps I am biased, but I have to admit that I am rather fond of our 2016 Family Estate wine. That’s not to say that I don’t normally like it, it’s simply that I think that the 2016 is singularly good. From their tasting notes below, I would say that our Australian friends appear to think the same. This is perhaps one of the most detailed tasting notes I have ever read, and to be honest, I haven’t even heard of half of the fruits that they mention!

Castro Martin Family Estate ‘Sobre Lias’ 2016

A fine sandy colour with a touch of green, this is a young varietal Albariño with a significant future.

A golden fruit nose carries granitic sand’s talcy-minerality. The fruit is sliced apple and nashi flesh with a hint of spicy breakfast radish and waft of paddymelon skin. To taste, the gorgeously rounded prickly pear fruit has an enlivened sweet-sour tug, thanks to a tangle of subtle green elements – tarragon, watermelon skin, mint, lime. But the mouthfeel really is the thing! At first, trademark Salnes Valley acidity is prominent, along with Atlantic saline and granitic edginess – these are textural and flavoursome, far from simply sharp, and house a wine of great fleshy depth. Below and within the acid frame, a surprisingly powerful bell of lively, spiced rich fruit pushes out, revealing the hidden, raw power of Albariño, from a very fine tank of supremely textural fruit. Astonishing already, with 2-3 years of positive development ahead of it, this delicious wine sets a new benchmark for Albariño.

A recent article from the Wine Enthusiast would also appear to support the’typicity’ of this wine:

Val do Salnés: The Birthplace of the Grape

[:]