Raul Perez Rara Avis Albarin 2019

Raul Perez Rara Avis Albarin 2019

Raul Perez
$35.00

Grape: Albarín
Vintage: 2019
Type: White

This white wine is of the rare albarín grape produced by winemaker Raúl Pérez in León. The fruit is hand-harvested from mature fifty-year-old vines grown on clay-limestone soils that protect the variety's natural acidity. The winemaking incorporates a low-intervention spontaneous fermentation with native wild yeasts, followed by three to five years of aging under a natural film of flor yeast. This traditional oxidative process transforms the fruit structure without modern clarifications or modifications.

It pours a bright straw-yellow color, releasing clear aromatics of green apple, dried orchard fruit, and distinctive oxidative notes. A sleek, medium-bodied frame pairs fresh fruit flavors with a complex undercurrent of roasted nuts. A lively wave of natural acidity cuts through the slightly waxy mouthfeel, maintaining excellent structural tension. The flor contact coordinates with a vein of marine salinity across mid-palate. It concludes bone-dry, leaving a clean finish marked by savory stone.

Winery

Raúl Pérez is a Spanish winemaker whose work extends from his home region of Bierzo into other parts of the northwest, with old vineyards and local grapes providing the common thread. His small projects often focus on varieties and sites that would otherwise receive less attention. In León, the Rara Avis range explores that idea through Albarín Blanco and Prieto Picudo. Albarín is a distinct local white grape, despite the similarity of its name to the better-known Albariño of Galicia.

For Rara Avis Albarín, fruit comes from old vines in León and is harvested by hand. Fermentation proceeds without temperature control, followed by an extended period in French oak foudres. Depending on the wine and vintage, Pérez uses time and maturation to reveal a different side of the grape rather than hurry it into a simple young-white style. The result is a more textural, layered expression, with the concentration of old vines and a fresh structural line. It offers one view of Pérez’s wider curiosity about Spain’s vineyard heritage and the possibilities hidden within less familiar varieties.