Bodegas Chaves Castel de Fornos Albariño

Founded in 1955, Bodegas Chaves enjoys an enviable position close to the coast, benefitting from the sea breeze to maintain healthy grapes and on granite soil to add complexity and minerality to their wines. They believe firmly in minimal intervention in the winery, only intervening when necessary. The whole range is produced from estate-owned grapes, ensuring maximum control over quality, and this is clear when tasting their range from top to bottom.

Castel de Fornos is the name of the first vineyard planted by Bodegas Chaves and represents a textbook Albariño, a floral and citrus nose with a little hint of honey and hay. The palate is crisp and mineral with a little more generous orchard fruit flavours, herbs and orange peel. Someone mentioned the term ‘English country garden’ when I tasted this, and that has stuck; that’s what it tastes like!