2024 Bodegas Montecillo Singladuras Albarino, Rias Baixas

The clean flavors of Albariño are very versatile and partner well with typical local dishes such as Galician style octopus or scallops. It is ideal with white meats and vegetables or seafood, clams, oysters and oven-baked fish.

Lemon yellow with greenish highlights, clean and bright. A pure sensation of fruit on the nose, ripe peach wrapped in citrus notes and a finish of ripe pear. On the palate it bursts with an explosion of delicious fruit: peach, attractive citrus notes and a lovely silkiness. The characteristic saline note of great wines made with this variety, which makes them so good with food, makes a clear appearance on the finish. A very seductive wine.

Montecillo is renowned for its female winemakers; led by oenologist Mercedes Garcia.

Established in 1870, Bodegas Montecillo is one of the oldest wineries in the D.O. Rioja. The name, Montecillo—or little mountain—speaks to the irregular topography of the Rioja vineyards. Surrounded by vines and close to the waters of the majestic Ebro river, the city of Fuenmayor is set amongst flat topped hills, and in the distance, the distinctive rocky mass of the Cantabrian Mountains.

Montecillo’s ancient underground ‘bodega’ houses hand stacked bottles that remain undisturbed until reaching optimal roundness, including vintages that date back to 1926, the year that the Rioja Designation of Origin was created. The wines are crafted to enjoy a long bottle life; they continue bottle ageing longer than those from other wineries in the region.