Terroir, microclimate and wisdom, this is how the only single-estate albariños are made

To discover the true dimension of the three Pazo Baión wines, it’s necessary to focus on the qualities that make them different. The only single-estate albariños in the world are the result of a proposal as delicate as genuine

«If you are looking for different results, don’t always do the same thing». The phrase, insistently attributed to Albert Einstein, has ended up in manuals and writings of multiple disciplines. From coaching to art. From sports to engineering. And it could also apply to the world of wine. Specifically, for the story we are going to tell you today about the only single-estate albariños in the world: the wines of Pazo Baión.

To discover the true dimension of the winery’s three wines, we must go back to the genesis of this project. To the year 2008, when Condes de Albarei took over this property to build a different proposal. Authentic.

A project that would mean a sort of synthesis of several worlds: culture, architecture, history, nature… And, of course, wines.

But not just any wines. No. Pazo Baión had to walk the paths of excellence. For that territory to which only a few can access.

Thus was born an idea that, over the years, has gained the esteem of critics and the public: the single-estate albariños.

A way of understanding the wine universe within the Rías Baixas DO that is singular. Its own. And that arises from the nature of the property. From those 22 hectares of vineyards that offer an incomparable framework to materialize this idea.

Because in order to understand the origin of the single-estate albariños, we must first look at the essence of the single-estate wines. In a way of production that is inflexible with the origin of the grape, the qualities of the soil and the winemaking processes.

At Pazo Baión each and every one of these requirements is met. Each of our wines are made with grapes harvested exclusively within the property.

The care of the grapes

A challenge that requires extreme care of the vineyards in which there is no margin for error. Obtaining the highest quality raw material has become an inalienable principle for all those who work in the winery.

A property with a very particular microclimate. Distinct within the subzone of O Salnés. Although Pazo Baión is located just 10 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean, the climate is significantly different from that which, for example, can be identified in Cambados or Meaño.

The mountains surrounding the estate hold back numerous rains throughout the year. Even the difference in elevation between the highest and lowest plots of the pazo, almost 100 meters, generates a difference in the ripening of the grapes that requires individualized treatment.

This point is always emphasized by the prestigious winemaker José Hidalgo.

This extraordinary microclimate is joined by the powerful presence of a terroir that, in a way, is the heir of a tradition. From five centuries of cultivation of vineyards that today are generous.

A result in which weighs, and much, the third pillar that orbits around the concept of single-estate albariños: wisdom.

Indeed, the wines of Pazo Baión could not be explained today without alluding to the human factor. To the experience and knowledge of a team of professionals who from day one understood the true dimension of the challenge they had before them.

Professionals from fields such as viticulture and oenology who take care of the smallest detail. Who know every plant, every centimeter of the estate, every nuance of the albariño grape… Who have understood like no one else the uniqueness of a property known and admired in the five continents.

And who have made the world of wine a work of craftsmanship. Pure goldsmithing.

Thus, from the communion between terroir, microclimate and experience, Pazo Baión’s albariños have been forged.

A path that has been followed in a natural way. Without haste but without pause. Identifying and exploiting the estate’s potential to produce three exceptional wines. Distinct. Each one of them with a powerful personality, another of the hallmarks of single-estate wines.

Like Pazo Baión, the flagship of the project. The beginning of everything. An elaboration that stands out for its intense varietal perfume. A fresh and balanced wine in the mouth, with good structure and long development with a very aromatic persistent finish.

In 2015 came to the world that marvel that is Pazo Baión Gran a Gran. A raisined Albariño that is the product of an artisanal harvest, grain by grain, and of that miracle that results from noble rot.

A wine that stands out on the nose for its floral aromas and honeyed notes, as well as candied fruits such as orange. And in the mouth it manifests itself with a long, smooth finish.

The epitome of all this work was reached in 2016 with the launch of Pazo Baión Vides de Fontán. An albariño with 3 years of aging that has conquered the critics without remission.

An elaboration created with grapes harvested in the highest plots of the estate that stands out for its varietal character. Also for the presence of aromas of white flowers, stone fruits and citrus.

A fresh and balanced wine with great structure, enveloping and mineral and long development in the mouth. An albariño that breaks with the most classic orthodoxy and surprises with its strong personality.

In short, three single-estate albariños that arise from an inimitable idea. From a project that has not stopped growing since its birth.

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