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All hail Noelia de Paz, the Queen of Albarín! Yes, we mean Albarín, an obscure Spanish grape variety with just 90 hectares planted worldwide.

We don’t write about Léon much in this newsletter — this flat, arid region isn’t especially well-known, though Bierzo’s Mencía-based wines have garnered some fame. Léon’s wine scene dominated by two grape varieties, the aforementioned white grape Albarín (not to be confused with Galician Albariño) and the red Prieto Picudo.

Noelia grew up at her family’s winery, and after working everywhere from the sales department to vineyard management, she established her own project called LaOsa, Spanish for “the bear”. She’s a true champion of Léon’s unique terroir and indigenous varieties, but her passion for great wine doesn’t stop there, and (somewhat confusingly) she also makes a fabulous Rías Baixas Albariño from some of Galicia’s best terroir.

So what’s the deal with Albarín and Albariño? Both grape names derive from the Latin word for white, alba, referring to the pale hue of the ripe grapes. Albarín is an early-ripening, high-acid grape variety with Muscat-esque floral qualities and lots of sun-ripened fruit flavors (peach, melon, pear), and it is grown almost exclusively in Léon and nearby Asturias.

Closer to the Atlantic coast, Albariño is Galicia’s trademark grape variety. It ripens late, usually harvested between mid-September and early October. Its intense apricot flavors are typically tempered by serious salinity imparted by constant sea breezes and sandy soils. ‘Polar’ is sourced from sandy granite soils in Salnes, and unsurprisingly pairs extremely well with seafood (but plays very nicely with cheese, veggies, or white meat).



And lastly, Prieto Picudo can yield tannic red wines with high alcohol levels. But Noelia takes this grape and turns it into a gorgeous pale pink rosé with all of the variety’s perfume, spice, and blackberry flavor but none of the heft. Her Trasto rosado is crisp and bright; it’ll work equally well as a poolside sipper as paired with summer salads or grilled seafood.