Back Label Decrypted of two Albariño Wines from Rias Baixas

Isabelle Lesschaeve Author

Explore the diversity and complexity of two Albariño wines produced in the same Spanish wine region.

Back Labels—Decrypted is a free monthly online wine-tasting event led by wine-tasting coach Dr. Isabelle Lesschaeve. 

Here's a summary of the participant's experience at the latest session.

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Discover Albariño: Going outside the well-known varietal wine styles.

This grape variety was not part of my repertoire.

I discovered it only recently.

It’s produced in the North West of Spain, and the region benefits from a Mediterranean climate with heavy rainfalls.

Some say it is as versatile as Chardonnay and comes in different styles: unoaked, aged on lees, and sparkling.

I was excited to explore this Spanish varietal wine during this month's tasting.

I selected two wines based on their contrasting back label descriptions to challenge our palates.

Both produced in Rias Baixas.

+ Martin Codax Albariño, 2022.
+ Paco & Lola Albariño, 2021. 

How did we compare these two Albariño wines in a fair way?

In a comparative wine tasting, we assess two wines side-by-side to detect subtle nuances:

1. We focus on the aromas, all the perceptions perceived by smelling the wine, and
2. Then, we put our attention on the perceptions while sipping or after swallowing the wines.

This well-established sensory approach helps sharpen participants’ senses and improve their ability to identify and describe wine aromas and flavors.

We use the Wine Aroma Wheel to categorize the aromatics into generic families (fruity, woody) and then try to become more specific, guided by the suggested subcategories on the wheel.

Therefore, a comparative tasting is not so much about the wines and their story (of course, it’s part of it).

As a sensory scientist and tasting coach, I’m leading this type of tasting to free the tasters from any a priori expectations so that they can experience the wine flavors through their senses and their interpretation of them.


Participants are the heroes of this session.
My focus is on helping them become more discerning tasters for their pleasure or their career.

Let’s discover the participants' tasting notes and how they align or diverge from the reviews and back labels describing these same wines.

Wine Tasting Notes for Martin Codax Albariño, 2022.

The label and review descriptions: What we expected to taste

Participant's tasting notes

Every taster experienced some citrus note, described as grapefruit or lemon zest., and a dominant acidity.

Some participants noted the following:

- Tree fruit characters such as apple.
- A floral note, maybe honeysuckle.
- A chemical sensation, maybe due to a sulfur aroma detection
- A light but slick mouthfeel. Others called the mouthfeel drying.

No one mentioned peach or apricot flavors, contrary to what the reviews suggested.

The Chemical/sulfur/earthy perceptions might be related to what some people call minerality, again as suggested by the reviews.

Wine Tasting Notes for Paco & Lola Albariño, 2021.

The label and review descriptions: What we expected to taste

Participant's tasting notes

All participants detected a grapefruit juice aroma in this wine.

• Some detected a pineapple scent, a caramel-like sensation.

• A floral note close to orange blossom

• Earthy note

• Caramel-like, burnt sugar aromatics

• Light body, a dominant acidity.

In summary

Participants' tasting notes were close to the back label and wine review descriptions.

Everyone appreciated the complexity of these wines, with so many different notes keeping surprising us.

The acidity was very present but not unpleasant, which was worth noting.

We all loved Albariño and will continue to explore other wine productions of this varietal wine. 

Lodi in California, and we learned that wineries in Pennsylvania offer this interesting wine style.

Explore the fruity aromas of Albariño wines

Recommended Podcast about Albariño and the Rias Baixas region

It started with the sound of bagpipes. I stopped biking and double-checked if I had selected the correct episode.

What do bagpipes have anything to do with Spain and Spanish wines?

Well, it turns out that they have a lot to do with Galicia, at least, and its Celtic roots.

As I was preparing the upcoming monthly wine-tasting event…

….I stumbled upon an episode of the Wine Blast podcast dedicated to Albariño wines and their Spanish production region, Rias Baixas.

In this episode, the two hosts, Susie and Peter, introduce us to:

• The region,

• its history,

• How Albarino production has developed in recent years.

• The importance of the Atlantic Ocean

• The interplay between Seafood and wine

• Why so many female winemakers.

Just to name a few insights I gathered while sweating on my stationary bike.

I particularly enjoyed the interviews with local winemakers and the inclusion of sound bites taken in the vineyards.

I recommend listening to this episode here.

If you’re more of a reader, you’ll find the episode's transcript as well, but will miss the sound bites!

Test your knowledge of Albariño wines

Take the quiz here.

Categories: : Tasting education

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