Ballesteros Torres recommends six top Albariños from Rías Baixas, Galicia

Pazo Barrantes, La Comtesse, Val do Salnés 2016 96

£ 38.99 Vintriloquy

The know-how of one of Spain’s top white winemakers, Marqués de Murrieta, shows in this, one of the most genuine, complex Albariños. Fermentation and four months’ ageing in large oak vats has conferred aromatic complexity, with just a hint of wood, alongside ripe apricot and quince aromas and a lovely floral expression. Impressively built, retaining delicious juiciness. Drink 2020-2031 Alc 13.5%

Pazo Señorans, Selección de Añada, Val do Salnés 2010 94

£47.99 Alliance Wine, Davis Bell McCraith, Hennings, Museum Wines

Intensely perfumed, with quince notes dominating apricot and floral aromas. There’s a rounded spicy touch from the 30 months this wine has spent ageing on its lees in stainless steel. It has a creamy, dense palate with a lingering finish – and it will get even better after two more years in bottle. Drink 2020-2030 Alc 13.5%

Raúl Pérez , Sketch, Val do Salnés 2017 94

£ 38.99 (2018) Vinissimus

This wine conveys its sea-facing landscape through saline and iodine aromas. The palate shows restrained yet precise fruit, with a slight spiciness and a nutty touch from 12 months in oak. Appetising, with a lingering saline flavour, it has a style all of its own, honouring the genius of Raúl Pérez. Drink 2020-2025 Alc 13.5%

Bodegas Gerardo Méndez, Do Ferreiro Cepas Vellas, Val do Salnés 2018 93

£ 26.80 Decántalo

A benchmark for the purity of Albariño fruit in Salnés, from vineyards between 50 and 200 years old. It’s fresh and lively, with flavours of apricot, peach, dried grass, spice and acacia, with roundness from 12 months’ lees ageing and a multi-layered finish. Drink 2020-2025 Alc 12.5%

Attis, Embaixador, Val do Salnés 2016 91

£ 20 Vinissimus

A pergola-trained, single-vineyard wine redolent of the soil, aged for two years in granite vats. It’s rich and open, balanced and dense. This is the new wave of Albariño: long, concentrated and very gastronomic. Drink 2020-2024 Alc 13%

Bodegas del Palacio de Fefiñanes, Albariño de Fefiñanes III Año, Val do Salnés 2016 91

£ 30-£ 32 Decántalo, Drinks & Co

This has a mineral character, vaguely reminiscent of aged Riesling, together with intense peach aromas. With suave balance and soft texture, it has lots of personality and was reductively aged, spending seven months on its lees and two years in bottle. Drink 2020-2025 Alc 13.5%