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Bodegas Chaves
Established in 1955, Chaves was one of the first wineries to establish Albariño vineyards in the Rías Baixas
Bodegas Chaves
DO Rías Baixas, Spain
Despite now being ubiquitous with Galicia’s Rías Baixas region, until the 20th Century, Albariño plantings were sporadic, found mainly in small plots owned by monasteries and convents.
In the 1940s, the Chaves family made their own wine to sell in their wine tavern.
At a family gathering in 1962, Cándido Chaves’s great-uncle showed him a century-old vine of a white variety called Albariño in his garden. Recognising its potential, Cándido grafted this vine into his Fornos vineyard, 26 years before the foundation of the DO Rías Baixas.
The winery continued to make history by becoming the first winery to harvest Albariño in Cambados after the establishment of the DO Rías Baixas in 1988, before winning the first award for an Albariño from the region at the INTERVIN wine competition in Barcelona in 1990.
The winery, still in the hands of the Chaves family, continues to produce award-winning Albariño from 100% estate-owned vineyards.
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Castel de Fornos Albariño
The winery’s flagship wine, named after the family’s first vineyard, located on dry, stony slopes in the village of Fornos.
Produced from estate grown old vine Albariño, Castel de Fornos has wonderfully complex floral aromatics and finely structured mineral notes originating from the granitic soils of the Pontevedra region – the heart of DO Rias Baixas. On the beautifully textured palate there’s summer fruit and citrus, with a hint of herbaceousness, this is a very complete Albariño with great texture and persistence on the finish.
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Cinco Islas Albariño
From only the second winery to be granted DO recognition after DO Rías Baixas was formally classified in 1988, and now in 3rd generation winery management, Cinco Islas is a premium Albariño from Atlantic-exposed granite-based sites at gentle elevation. Minimal intervention in vineyard and in the bodega allows the best expression of provenance and vivid terroir-driven minerality.
