Malvasía, Garnacha, Albariño... 14 wines with native white grape varieties that you should try.
These bottles, recommended by the experts behind La Vanguardia's 2025 Wine Guide, edited by Lluís Tolosa, reflect the latest trends in wine tourism, sustainability, and packaging. They also reflect the focus on recovering ancestral varieties and innovation in packaging, as well as the growing interest in regenerative agriculture:
Grape varieties: 100% volcanic malvasia Time in barrel: Not specified Price: €30 Score out of 100: 95
“On September 1, 1730, between nine and ten at night, the earth opened up in Timanfaya, two leagues from Yaiza... and an enormous mountain rose from the earth,” is the historical testimony of Andrés Lorenzo Curbelo, the then priest of the town of Yaiza. The eruptions lasted six years, until 1736, covering a third of the island of Lanzarote with lava and ash.
Lanzarote wine is a miracle of adaptation to that 18th-century volcanic tragedy. Volcanic ash, or lapilli, known as picón in the Canary Islands, is so common in Lanzarote that it's known simply as sand, or rofe. In some places on the island, two or three meters of rofe accumulated. Winegrowers had to dig holes until they found fertile soil. For generations, they planted one vine per hole, protecting it from the trade winds with volcanic stone walls, known as socos, creating a landscape somewhere between heroic, sculptural, and lunar.
El Grifo (1775) is the oldest winery in the Canary Islands. I was invited to give a lecture on wine tourism, undoubtedly one of my most illuminating and moving visits this year. Malvasía Lias 2018 is a special edition to celebrate its 250th anniversary (1775-2025). A single-varietal 100% volcanic Malvasia, selected from four winegrowers in Tinajo, harvested on August 2nd, the earliest harvest in Europe. Pure varietal expression after 28 months on its lees and 3 years of bottle aging. Tropical fruit, floral notes, fennel, honey, nuts, and bakery notes, with a mineral and slightly saline background. Pure landscape in the bottle. Lluís Tolosa
Grape varieties: 100% Garnacha Time in barrel: 5 months Price: €52 Score out of 100: 95
Garnacha Blanca elevated to the nth degree, reinterpreting traditional winemaking techniques. Ramon Roqueta seeks to demonstrate that Garnacha Blanca can produce great white wines. We're talking up to four vinifications, in search of the perfect balance. Part of the wine is produced as brisat , in open barrels, fermented and macerated with its skins. Then, part of the wine is aged in barrels with brisat wines from previous vintages, to provide solera-aged Garnacha; the other part is aged in stainless steel to provide fresh Garnacha.
On the other hand, it is produced as a macerated white, with pressed grapes. Part of the wine then ferments in stainless steel vats and the rest in barrels, aging for five months. Finally, the four wines are blended, waiting 30 months until maturity is reached. La Fou de Rams comes from the Rams vineyard, planted in 1966, more than 50 years ago, in the lowest part of the estate, at an altitude of 340 meters. The location benefits from the garbinades , the local wind, which gives it freshness and preserves its acidity. The fruit load and maturity come from the orientation and width of these terraces, which ensure full sunlight, favoring the ripening and concentration of the grapes.
The first 2018 vintage was already impressive; this 2020 vintage consolidates it as one of the most promising white Garnachas from the Terra Alta DO. Highly varietal and complex. A repertoire of white fruit, nuts, honey, citrus, and balsamic notes, with salinity and tannins. It's a must-watch; it's shaping up to be one of the great white wines of Catalonia. Lluís Tolosa
Grape varieties: 90% Pedro Ximénez, 10% Muscat Time in barrel: 10 months Price: €16 Score out of 100: 95
La Ola del Melillero is made primarily from Pedro Ximénez grapes from the Montes de Málaga. Its freshness and minerality, almost saline, reflect the character of the vineyards on the hillsides of the Axarquia, come from seven small plots, each between 30 and 100 years old, in the municipality of Málaga.
Its texture is silky, yet with vibrant acidity, which adds tension and liveliness to the overall wine. The fruity notes perceived on the nose are maintained, accompanied by a light creaminess reminiscent of toasted almonds and hazelnuts, a product of its aging on lees. Notes of honeysuckle combine with aromas of stone fruits such as peach and apricot, along with a citrus touch reminiscent of lemon and grapefruit peel.
Victoria Ordoñez is a doctor who stopped treating patients to care for the vines. That's why she pampers them by hand-harvesting in 10-kg boxes with the help of mules and transporting the grapes from the vineyard in refrigerated containers. Her secret: dry-vinified Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel grapes. Forty percent is fermented in new French oak barrels, and the remainder in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. The blessed 10-month aging on lees is evident in that fantastically dense and chewy smoothness.
The Melillero Wave is the phenomenon recorded on the urban beaches of Málaga, the sudden and ephemeral rise in sea level, caused by the waves caused by the Melillero wave, the ship that travels between Málaga and Melilla. Meritxell Falgueras
Grape varieties: 100% Albariño Time in barrel: Not specified Price: €29 Score out of 100: 94
The Gerardo Méndez winery is located between the Pontevedra and Arousa estuaries, in the municipality of Meaño. It could be considered the subregion with the greatest maritime influence due to its proximity to the coast. The first vintage of this delicious white wine was 2014, and it is classified by Orador as the most minerally produced. It is a varietal wine, whose grapes are carefully and carefully selected. This vineyard was planted in 1850 and is still cared for with the same care and appreciation today.
Do Ferreiro Adina is very special, with a marked minerality, as the vineyard sits on red slate soil, unusual in this area, which gives it that character, which we could call the secret of its success. Its vines are old and have been trained into trellises. What I value most about the Albariño grape is its personality and the way it ages in the bottle without undergoing oak aging.
This concept is respected at this winery. Adina has been aged on its fine lees for nine months in stainless steel. Its color is pale yellow with greenish hues and bright. Its fragrant nose reveals the main varietal characteristics. I find notes of citrus, orange and grapefruit, stone fruit (like apricot), balsamic herbs, white rose petals, and white apple-like fruit.
It also presents saline and mineral notes. The entry is pleasant, enveloping, and full of good fruit. It is sharp, fresh, fluid, and fruity, leaving a mineral sensation on the finish. It boasts many ingredients that will give it a magnificent evolution in the bottle. María José Huertas
Grape varieties: 100% Albillo Mayor Time in barrel: 5 months Price: €30 Score out of 100: 94
Coral wine from the Atauta Valley, isolated highlands in the eastern Ribera del Duero region. The valley, only 4 km long and barely 1 km wide, is home to 59 hectares of vines, all old, all ungrafted, neglected even by phylloxera.
In the Atauta vineyard, red grapes reign supreme, but scattered among the vineyards are also some white Albillo Mayor varieties. In the old vines, the varieties grew together and intertwined. The white grapes were used to make a little wine for the women of the family. Throughout history, white and red grapes have been produced from the vineyards, combining the famous Castilian clarets and balancing many red wines. Now we have the opportunity to enjoy this exceptional white, heir to the spirit of Atauta's great reds. It is made with Albillo grapes from multiple owners and different vines on very varied soils, with an average age of 138 years.
With so much variety, it's not easy to bring out the best in each vineyard, so at Atauta, they've made the painstaking decision to vinify separately, tailored to each vineyard and its Albillo variety, with different winemaking strategies followed by aging on lees in old 600-liter barrels. Finally, they blend the best from each wine. The result is a complex, fragrant white with hints of chalk and a full, round palate, with prominent fruit and minerality. In short, the spirit of Atauta: freshness and always the memory of its limestone soil. Drink in the landscape! Alicia Estrada
Grape varieties: 100% Malvasia Time in barrel: Not specified Price: €10 Score out of 100: 94
Nico had always lived surrounded by spotlights and applause. His face, as wrinkled as it was endearing, his vitality and almost human intelligence made him a movie star. Directors and producers took great care of him, and Nico, in his naive happiness, couldn't imagine a different future. He grew old, and his popularity faded; he was no longer a necessary "good." He ended up in a cage, in a filthy zoo, where his life faded away in solitude and slow motion.
The Mona Foundation, located in Riudellots de la Selva (Girona), focuses on rehabilitating and offering a social life to our hominid ancestors who have had a very difficult, even cruel, past. After learning about Nico's case, they went in search of him, because the worst thing that can happen to a primate is loneliness. They are social beings, just like us.
In 2002, Josep Serra and Marta Pedra, then a pair of dreamy university students, met Jordi Sais, an experienced winemaker who wanted to sell his vineyards in Mollet de Perelada. Thus was born one of the most sensitive winemaking projects in the world: La Vinyeta.
Life crossed paths with the Fundació Mona and La Vinyeta. Thus was born this charity wine, with Nico on the label. A young, fragrant, lush, dry, delicious, profound Malvasia, a wine of pure spring in the glass, which also celebrates this famous variety that was also on the verge of extinction. Nico lives on today in every glass of this wine, enjoyed as it should be: in company and supporting dignity and respect for animals. Ferran Centelles
Grape varieties: 100% Albariño Time in barrel: Not specified Price: €30 Score out of 100: 94
We've been following Terra de Asorei for some time. In 2023, we highlighted their work in recovering the Espadeiro variety. As the poet Ramón Cabanillas (1876-1959) said, " the Celtic wine is the very soul of Galicia ." In 2024, we awarded them our Vitivinícola Identity Award for their excellent Brut Albariño sparkling wine. And now they've surprised us with this Centenary Vineyard Albariño.
This is a first for the first time. I've been allowed to be the first to try it, a first and only sample bottle, straight from the vat. It will be presented at Barcelona Wine Week 2025, in February, when this guide is already on the market. Bottles will not be available until October 2025.
It comes from centuries-old Albariño vines, cultivated for over a century on the Ouso da Torre estate (Cambados). Terra de Asorei and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) are researching these centuries-old vines, because a century ago, Albariño barely accounted for 3% of the vineyard. The predominant variety was the Tinta Espadeiro, but this estate is exceptional because the 1902 vineyard registry shows that the majority of the estate was planted with Albariño.
To this historical value, they have incorporated the latest digital traceability technology, vine by vine, satellite monitoring of transport, and digital control of its production in the winery, led by Jorge Hervella. It's difficult to assess a wine straight from the vat, but its fruity depth and vibrant acidity point to an Albariño that can be aged for a long time. Over the years, it could become one of the great Albariños of the Val do Salnés, the flagship Albariño subregion in the Rías Baixas. Lluís Tolosa
Grape varieties: 100% Gewürztraminer Time in barrel: Not specified Price: €19 Score out of 100: 94
One of Parés Baltà's most delicate and elegant microvinifications. A 100% single-varietal Gewürztraminer from their organic and biodynamic vineyards strategically located on the highest family estates in the Penedès. It's a variety native to the cool Alpine slopes of Trentino-Alto Adige, in northeastern Italy, so it's a strain adapted to the cold. Parés Baltà cultivates it at over 600 meters above sea level. Only then can Gewürztraminer express itself in all its aromatic and fruity splendor.
To get to know this wine better, we recommend the Parés Balta 4x4 'Terroir Tour', which runs through the Foix Natural Park, from the Pacs del Penedés plain to the highest mountains in the region, discovering centuries-old terraces and vineyards among forests, reaching the hermitage of Santa María de Foix, at the altitude where Gewürztraminer feels at home.
Fruity, with subtlety and elegance. Sensations of yellow fruit, with broad floral notes of jasmine and orange blossom, refreshing, with fine hints of citrus, lime, and orange peel. Certified organic and suitable for vegans. A healthy wine, as my dear and admired friend Joan Cusiné always says. It's one of those white wines we always have at home. A safe bet, excellent value for money. Plus, we always forget a bottle at the back of the wine rack, and it evolves magnificently in the cellar, allowing us to store it in good conditions and see how it grows in expressiveness. Lluís Tolosa
Grape varieties: Verdejo Time in barrel: 4 months Price: €16 Score out of 100: 93
Gran Vino de Rueda, the new category approved by the Rueda DO in 2021, exclusively for top-quality wines that have passed strict tastings and are representative of the potential of the Verdejo variety. Its requirements include vines over 30 years old, a maximum yield of 6,500 kg/ha, and a conversion rate of 65% from kilos to liters.
Finca Montico is a true Grand Rueda Wine. Far from the fruitiness and tropical character of more commercial Verdejos, this is a serious, elegant, balanced, and dry Verdejo. Behind the white fruit and peach, the authentic Verdejo characteristics emerge, with fresh tones of fennel and fine herbs. Aging on lees, partly in stainless steel and partly in French oak foudres, gives it complexity and smoothness. Without much explosiveness on the nose, but with great varietal character on the palate. A Verdejo to rediscover and re-evaluate.
Verdejo has been documented in these towns for centuries, since the reign of Alfonso VI (1040-109), after the Muslim invasion, with the repopulation of the Duero Valley with Cantabrians, Basques and Mozarabs, the latter being the ones who seem to have brought Verdejo.
Marqués de Riscal, always pioneers and innovators, produced their first Rueda whites in 1972, driving the creation of the Rueda DO in 1980. They created a new style of young, fresh, and fruity white wines in an area historically known for its golden wines, Amontillados, and Olorosos. Other wineries followed suit, agreeing on the style of Rueda white wines. They have now reaffirmed their position as a Great Rueda Wine. Lluís Tolosa
Grape varieties: 100% white Albarín Time in barrel: 6 months Price: €21 Score out of 100: 93
The Monasterio de Corias winery is located in a privileged location within the estate of the historic Monastery of San Juan Bautista de Corias, founded in the 11th century by Benedictine monks who began a winemaking tradition that lasted for centuries. Until the plagues of powdery mildew (1850) and phylloxera (1889) devastated the vineyards of Cangas del Narcea. The final blow was the massive hailstorm of June 19, 1959, which devastated the remaining vines, destroying not only the year's harvest but also the three following harvests.
In the 1990s, to prevent the vineyards from disappearing, they founded the Cangas Wine Producers and Makers Association. In 2001, they obtained the status of Vino de la Tierra de Cangas (Cangas Land Wine), and in 2009, the Cangas Protected Designation of Origin was recognized.
My first visit was around that time, when my good friend Joaquín Fernández (Juaco, to his friends) invited me to the annual meeting of the Association of Wine Museums of Spain and to visit the new Cangas del Narcea Wine Museum. I was fascinated by the Cangas wine landscape and its heroic mountain viticulture. I still keep the small wooden bowl he gave me, where Cangas wines were traditionally drunk.
Guilfa Blanco is pure identity, very representative of Cangas. A 100% varietal Albarín Blanco, fermented and aged in carbayu barrels, the authentic Asturian oak. Smooth, light, and fresh, with an Atlantic character, with broad tropical, floral, and herbaceous notes that place it somewhere between Albariño and Verdejo. I love it. Lluís Tolosa
Grape varieties: 100% Godello Time in barrel: 10 months Price: €19 Score out of 100: 93
I love the interpretations of Godello offered by Grégory Pérez's winery. Having to choose just one wine from this winery, I opted for a mid-range Godello, as an invitation to the reader to prove that this French-Berciano native knows what he's doing and can be given credit for tasting his wonderful white wines. For example, his Mengoba Las Tinajas, produced and aged in clay jars; his Mengoba Grand Cuvée, a Godello with a very long, four-year oak aging; or the geeky Las Botas, a Berciano wine that looks south, as the Godello is aged in Sanlúcar Manzanilla barrels that are over 150 years old.
But let's go back to the beginning. Mengoba Godello Viejo is a blend of plots from diverse geographies and varied soils. The average age of the vineyard is over 20 years. The wine is produced in 4,000-liter oval foudres and matures on its own lees for 10 months. It is bottled with very light fining and filtering, offering a version that brings us closer to the terroir of El Bierzo without any embellishment, with authenticity.
A wine that tells complex stories in very simple words, the perfect introduction to the wines of this territory and this producer. Grégory learned the rules of winemaking in Bordeaux and arrived in Bierzo in search of his dream vineyard. He's part of a new generation of winegrowers who like to call themselves vignerons, not because of their French origins, but rather because of their determination to make the vineyard speak in every bottle. And as we know, those who sow sincerity reap trust. Alicia Estrada
Grape varieties: 100% Parellada Time in barrel: 1 month Price: €27 Score out of 100: 92
The Mas de la Pansa estate, located in Vila-rodona (Alt Camp, Tarragona), is the source of this Catalunya wine. A tribute to Catalan winemaking tradition, this 100% Parellada single-varietal from a vineyard planted in 1956 captures the essence of this variety, known for its freshness, distinction, texture, and elegance. This variety is found in the regions of Penedès, Conca de Barberà, and Camp de Tarragona.
Roughly speaking , we can talk about fresh white fruits, such as pear and green apple, accompanied by delicate citrus notes of lemon and grapefruit. As it airs, subtle floral nuances emerge, such as orange blossom and fennel, adding complexity and depth to the aromatic ensemble and its delicate texture. The notes of green apple and citrus are confirmed on the palate, accompanied by a light herbaceous touch that provides a pleasant sensation of freshness.
One of the great women of wine, Imma Soler, creates her wines from her family vineyards with organic certification, producing them with contact with the lees and battonage, which give them a good volume. She also spends a short time in lightly toasted French oak barrels, which gives it a complexity so light it's almost imperceptible... but which does add that something more that leaves you wanting more! Because Inma's vision, which always goes beyond texture, is evident in this wine, which stands out for its perceptive production method. Meritxell Falgueras
Grape varieties: Sumoll Blanc Time in barrel: 4 months Price: €24 Score out of 100: 92
Joan Franquet is the founder of Costador Terroirs Mediterranis, a winery born from his passion for wine. His first vintage, 2014, marked a return to his family's traditions, which had cultivated olive trees and vineyards in the Priorat region for over 500 years. His wife's family also had a long tradition of growing cereals, olive trees, and vineyards in the Conca de Barbera region, dating back to before 1600.
His obsession with the quality of his raw materials leads him to cultivate the vineyards with plant cover, following the guidelines of biodynamics and permaculture. And of course, to his commitment to native varieties. In this case, Sumoll Blanc from a 3-hectare vineyard in the village of Barberá de la Conca, planted at an altitude of approximately 600 meters, on calcareous, stony, and white clay soil. The production process is also unique, as the whole bunches ferment with native yeasts in 200-year-old, 3,500-liter clay vats.
He's a unique producer, thanks to his varieties, his special wines, the design of his labels, and the material used for his bottles. He produces highly individual wines in the Penedés, Conca de Barberá, and Priorat designations of origin, and in this case also under the generic DO Catalunya, which gives him more freedom for this type of wine. Now it's up to us to have the courage to step out of our comfort zone, exploring the unknown, and enjoying enriching experiences. Zoltan Nagy
Grape varieties: 100% Albariño Time in barrel: Not specified Price: €19 Score out of 100: 92
Pazo de San Mauro (1591) is a historic property that originally belonged to the Pereira de Castro family, Spanish-Portuguese nobles descended from King Sancho I of Portugal. The pazo has been involved in winemaking since its inception in the 16th century, making it one of the oldest wineries in Europe.
This Albariño, in addition to being a symbol of a historic estate, is also representative of the Condado de Tea subregion, surrounding the Tea River, a tributary of the Miño. Several municipalities share the right bank of the Miño, bordering Portugal, protected by the Galician Ridge mountain range, which divides Galicia from north to south, all the way to the Portuguese border.
It's a somewhat warmer subregion, with less rain, and an earlier harvest, three factors that influence the expression of Albariño. It's fruitier, more tropical, and less citrusy, thanks to more complete ripening and lower acidity. Furthermore, the 30 hectares of vineyards, each averaging 35 years old, planted on pebble terraces up to the banks of the Miño River, have the typical geologically ancient granite subsoil, which gives it a mineral character.
Perfectionism permeates all three winemaking processes. One-third of the bunches are cold macerated before fermentation, seeking extraction, intensity, and complexity. The other third is whole-pressed, without destemming, in the traditional way, providing freshness, identity, and varietal character. The final third is destemmed and directly pressed to achieve acidity and freshness. The perfect blend of the three wines is the secret to their elegance and balance. Lluís Tolosa
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