Marqués De Murrieta La Comtesse de Pazo Barrantes

The most elegant lady of Pazo de Barrantes, a wine with a limited production and an incredible potential. It is a modern white wine which demonstrates the versatility of the albariño grape reaching new horizons, beyond the freshness and fragrant aromatic range it boasts. La Comtesse shows an elegant complexity and aromatic richness, confirming the great potential of the albariño variety with a meticulous winemaking and a careful aging in oak vats.

Winemaker notes

An infinite nose where lychee, quince fruit and lemon peel flavours, harmonize gracefully with hints of acacia flowers, fennel and eucalyptus. A minerality edge provides refinement to the whole. Harmonious mouthfeel, its silky texture leads to an endless finish. “The breadth of this wine suggests a development that will continue for decades” María Vargas, Technical Director.

2018

Wine Advocate 96: The 2018 La Comtesse comes from a vineyard called Cacheiro, 1.4 hectares of their oldest vines (planted in 1965) that deliver lower yields and aim to showcase the aging potential of Albariño. The destemmed grapes were slowly and softly pressed in a pneumatic press, and the juice was let to settle and put to ferment in a 3,000-liter oak vat for some 60 days. The wine was kept in that vat for 12 months, the first two with lees, and then it matured in concrete for a further 12 months before bottling. It has 13.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.4 with seven grams of tartaric acid per liter, very good parameters for a great vintage. It has a bright golden color and a perfumed, complex and elegant nose, with depth and nuance with the complexity of time, moving away from the primary aromas and high acidity of the younger wines. The oak is neatly integrated (the oak is used, and they have reduced the time in oak by two months), and the wine has mellow acidity. It's velvety and elegant, clean, pungent and precise, sharp and electric, very fresh. It has complexity and youth, balance and ingredients to develop in bottle. Time is on its side. 6,672 bottles and 200 magnums were produced. It was bottled in April 2021. It was not released until June 2023, after a good couple of years in bottle. Prices have increased.

James Suckling 95: Very intense and slightly tropical nose with lemon rind, mango, jack fruit and fine lees. A creamy Rias Baixas with vivid pineapple and lemon flavors on the palate, cut through by a tangy streak of fresh acidity. A ripe yet very zesty and serious rendition here. Drink upon release or hold.