Nanclares Y Prieto 'Tempus Vivendi' Albarino 2023

The various Albarinos from biodynamic duo Nanclares y Preito are a masterclass in the full potential that this grape variety can achieve in the skilful hands of great vignerons and intuitive winemakers. Tempus Vivendi is a particularly saline example Albarino by the benchmark producer, with flavours spanning lemon balm, waxy green apple skin and lemongrass. There’s a volume to the wine but a linearity, too. Great drinking. – Ches Cook, Five Way Cellars.

Tempus Vivendi is a blend of multiple plots from Sanxenxo at the very south tip of the Salnes valley, an outcrop of land that sticks straight out into the Atlantic Ocean. The climate here is noticably colder and more exposed than the rest of Salnes and consequently it is here that the Nanclares y Prieto wines become the most angular and austere. Riven with iodine and salt and structured by a bracing acidity Tempus Vivendi is about as far from the tropical, fruity Albarino often hidden under a garish label that's become a commercial success. Pitched and nervy when it's first released with a few months Tempus Vivendi settles into itself and develops into an immensely satisfying and serious version of Albarino.