Bodegas AlbamarXurxo Alba
The personification of Albariño. From bricklayer's son to Atlantic icon—making electric, saline wines just meters from the ocean with indigenous yeasts in a region that said it was impossible.
From the bricklayer's furancho to the Atlantic's edge—how Xurxo Alba became the voice of Albariño.
When Xurxo Alba was a child in Castrelo, Cambados, his father Luis was a bricklayer. When Luis lost his job, he planted Albariño vines and opened a furancho—a traditional Galician tavern where locals drink unlabeled house wine and eat simple food. Run by Xurxo's mother Isabel, the furancho became legendary for having one of the region's best Spanish omelettes. The wine was sold in bulk, made simply, enjoyed locally.
Xurxo left to study viticulture and oenology, then worked as a consultant. But in 2006, he returned home to find his family's wine anonymous, blended into the regional pool. He made a decision that changed everything: he would bottle and commercialize the family's wine himself, naming it Albamar—combining the family name Alba with the word for sea, mar.
Today, Xurxo farms 10 hectares of estate vines and sources from another 13 hectares spread across 48 small growers' plots. His cellar sits next to his parents' furancho in Castrelo, meters from the Atlantic. When he bottles, he calls on a team of friends—including a father and son who harvest dangerous Galician barnacles (percebes) from sea cliffs—to help. They are paid, naturally, with Isabel's famous tortilla.
"Maximum respect"—indigenous yeasts in a region that said it was impossible, and the radical decision to block malolactic.
In Rías Baixas, where 98% of producers use commercial yeasts and most encourage malolactic fermentation to soften acidity, Xurxo Alba is an outlier. He uses only indigenous yeasts—wild, local, unpredictable—and since 2011, he has blocked malolactic fermentation entirely in his entry-level wine. "To allow all the saline freshness and bright minerality to show through," he explains.
His approach is "maximum respect"—organic farming where possible (though he acknowledges the difficulty in rainy Galicia), no treatments in his experimental vineyard, no tilling (only breaking the soil slightly to let it breathe), and pressing grapes with stems. He works with SO2 in moderation—mildew is a reality on the coast—but in minimal quantities.
Xurxo believes in long, slow fermentations and extended lees aging. Whether he uses oak, steel, or works the lees depends on the wine and the vintage. "He is a master of his craft," writes one importer. "His Albariños are effusive, electric wines, brimming with Atlantic energy and Salnés terruño." The wines slip in and out of the natural wine continuum—strict dogmatists might quibble with his sulfur use, but the results are undeniable.
Personification
O Salnés—granitic sand at sea level, where the Atlantic gives everything and takes nothing.
Finca O Pereiro
The jewel—just 50 meters from the Atlantic Ocean, planted in 2004 on clay and sand where the Umía River meets the sea. Xurxo convinced his skeptical family to plant the clay section despite drainage concerns. The result is Alma de Mar, a wine that literally tastes of ocean mist.
Soil
Sandy granitic soils on granite bedrock dominate the Salnés Valley. The decomposed granite provides excellent drainage in a region with 1,500mm annual rainfall. Shell fragments from the ancient seabed add minerality. The proximity to the ocean moderates temperature and provides saline breezes.
Years Old
Some of their parcels contain vines over 100 years old, including those used for Sesenta e Nove Arrobas. These ancient vines, with their deep root systems and genetic diversity, provide concentration and complexity impossible from younger plantings. The old vineyards are a living archive of Albariño history.
From the salty immediacy of Albamar to the oceanic depth of Alma de Mar—Albariño at every altitude of expression.
Albamar
The wine that started it all—100% Albariño from multiple parcels in and around Castrelo, hand-harvested and spontaneously fermented. Aged 6 months on lees, partly in stainless steel and partly in neutral oak foudre. Fresh, saline, electric, with tension and varietal purity. The benchmark for serious Albariño at an accessible price (~€11-15).
O Sebal
Xurxo's natural wine—100% Albariño from one organically-farmed plot and other conventionally-farmed vineyards, produced outside the DO Rías Baixas (though the vineyards are registered). Fermented with indigenous yeasts, raised on lees, blended on bottling day. No SO2 added, unfiltered. Darker color, more developed, dry and serious. Super expressive with incredible energy.
Alma de Mar
"Soul of the Sea"—from Finca O Pereiro, the vineyard just 50 meters from the Atlantic on sandy soils planted by Xurxo's father. Spontaneous fermentation, aged 8 months in large neutral barrel with batonnage. Rounder and more textural than the flagship, with unmistakable maritime salinity. The wine that proves proximity to ocean matters.
Pepe Luís
A tribute to Xurxo's brother, who died in a car accident at age 21. Sourced from five 40+ year-old plots farmed by a grower who lives next to the sea. Fermented spontaneously in stainless steel, aged in two 2,500L German and Austrian oak foudres with no bâtonnage. Time in foudre varies by vintage. Deeply personal, profound, and age-worthy.
Sesenta e Nove Arrobas
"69 Arrobas"—an old Galician liquid measure (1 arroba = 14.5 liters, 69 arrobas = ~1,000L, Xurxo's initial production in 2014). From five old plots, three over 100 years old. Spontaneously fermented in tank, aged 22 months on fine lees. Unfined, unfiltered, minimal SO2. The pinnacle of their Albariño—concentrated, complex, and built for aging. Very limited.
Finca O Pereiro
Distinct from Alma de Mar, this is the site-specific expression of the O Pereiro vineyard—clay and sand at the water's edge, planted in 2004. Spontaneous fermentation, 8 months in foudre on lees. The clay provides structure and a fatter mouthfeel than sandy sites. Xurxo fought to plant this despite family skepticism about drainage. The result justifies his vision.
O Esteiro
The red wine—Mencía, Caíño, and Espadeiro from small old vineyards throughout the Salnés Valley. Whole clusters are foot-trodden when they arrive, then trodden twice daily until fermentation nearly finishes. Pressed and transferred to used barrels for one year, separated by variety, then blended. Since 2015, Xurxo also makes three single-variety reds (~700 bottles each). Light, nervy, vegetal, spicy—typical of Rías Baixas reds but with elegance.
Capitán Xurelo
A barrel selection red blend similar to O Esteiro but with specific cask choices. Mencía, Caíño, and Espadeiro with beguiling balsamic-tinged plummy fruit. High acidity, fresh, with the nervy character that defines Galician reds. The name honors Xurxo (Captain Xurelo), playfully claiming his place in the region's wine tradition. Aged 18 months in used oak.
The Personification
Xurxo Alba has become synonymous with Albariño itself—the "personification" of the grape, as one importer wrote. In a region dominated by cooperative production and commercial yeasts, he proved that indigenous fermentation and site-specific bottlings could elevate Albariño from "holiday favorite" to serious, age-worthy wine. His wines demonstrate that the Atlantic isn't just a climate influence—it's a flavor.
Beyond Rías Baixas, Xurxo has expanded to Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras (with wines like Ceibo, a Godello from slate soils), but his heart remains in Castrelo, next to his mother's furancho, meters from the sea. The barnacle harvesters who help him bottle, the friends who gather for tortilla, the 48 small growers who trust him with their grapes—this is Albamar. Not just a winery, but a way of life that money can't buy.
- Indigenous yeasts in region of commercial yeasts (2%)
- Blocks malolactic fermentation (since 2011)
- Vineyards 50m from Atlantic Ocean
- Multi-generational family furancho tradition
- Works with 48 small growers
- Centenarian vine preservation
- Multi-regional Galician projects
- Zero sulfur cuvée (O Sebal)