Marqués de Cáceres Deusa Nai Albariño 2018 Rías Baixas, Spain 75cl

Marqués de Cáceres made its name in Rioja, but Deusa Nai is its Galician project, based in Rías Baixas on the cool, rain-washed Atlantic coast of north-west Spain. It is a very different world from the warm Spanish interior, and the difference shows in every sip of this wine.

Deusa Nai is a pure Albariño, the grape that defines Rías Baixas. Grown close to the sea on granite soils, it is made fresh and unoaked to capture the variety’s natural aromatics and its bright, cutting acidity, with no barrel to get in the way.

The 2018 season in Galicia was cooler and damper than average, a classic Atlantic year that favoured freshness, giving Albariño with vivid aromatics and lively, mouth-watering acidity.

In the glass it is pale and gleaming, almost silvery. Intense green apple and grapefruit lead, with white flowers and a hint of stone fruit behind, and a pronounced saline, almost sea-spray note that is the signature of good Rías Baixas. The palate is crisp and mouth-watering, the fruit taut and precise, finishing clean and dry.

This is one of Spain’s great seafood whites. Serve it well chilled with oysters, clams, grilled fish, prawns or sushi, or simply on its own as a refreshing aperitif on a warm day. If you like a crisp, mineral white with real drive and a coastal freshness, Albariño is hard to beat, and this is a polished, dependable example from a name you can trust. It rewards a proper chilling and a large glass to let its coastal aromatics fan out.