The Salnés Valley is the most important subzone in the Rías Baixas DO. Known locally as O Salnés, it has three-quarters of the region’s growers and just over half the appellation’s vineyards. It’s also the subzone with the largest number of wineries: 113 out of Rías Baixas’ 178 wineries are in the Val do Salnés.
The Sal in Salnés
The name “Salnés” comes from the salt flats that once covered the area (in Spanish and Galician, sal = salt). During the Middle Ages, the valley’s inhabitants collected salt and used it to preserve the fish that left their ports on merchant ships. The Latin name for the region was Territorium Salinense, which gradually became Salnés in Galician.
Salt has always been an important part of the Val do Salnés, and nowadays we associate it with its expression in the wines. Whether it’s the power of suggestion or some enological miracle, wines made from grapes grown in the Salnés Valley usually present more salinity on the nose and palate than wines from the other subzones. Their proximity to the cool breezes of the ocean also lends them the electric acidity that has made Albariño world-famous, with tart green apple and fresh citrus aromas.
A Little Geography
The Salnés Valley extends in a southwest direction from the town of Caldas de Reis towards the sea, following the flow of the Umia River until it empties into the Atlantic just south of Cambados. This little seaside town is probably the most important in the subzone, affectionately called the “capital of Albariño” and home to the annual Festa Internacional do Albariño, or International Albariño Festival.
The Val do Salnés subzone covers more or less the same geographical area as the valley, and encompasses the towns of Cambados, Meaño, Sanxenxo, Ribadumia, Meis, Vilanova de Arousa, Portas, Caldas de Reis, Vilagarcía de Arousa, Barro, O Grove and A Illa de Arousa.
The valley is mostly flat, with some small hills that rise about 100 meters above sea level. Some vines sit at slightly higher altitudes on the edges of the valley, but the upper limit is around 400 meters. The local tendency to refer to this higher terrain as the monte or “mountain” can be a bit confusing since these montes are really just tall hills covered with pines or eucalyptus trees.
The lowest areas of Val do Salnés are alongside the Umia River, where its flow created a wide, fertile river valley over millions of years. Although this wasn’t traditionally wine-growing territory, the huge demand for Albariño in the last twenty years has led some growers to plant vines in the bottoms of the valleys where other crops like corn were common in the past, sacrificing quality and concentration of flavors for a larger quantity of grapes.
Salnés Soils
Soils in the Salnés Valley are granitic and sandy for the most part, with loose, well-draining textures.
These soils, made from decomposed granite, are known as xábre in Galician.
Alluvial deposits, gravel, sand, and clay around the towns of Sanxenxo, Meaño, Cambados, and Ribadumia round out the soil types, along with layers of silt-clay where the Umia River empties into the Ría de Arousa.
Some soils to the west also contain gneiss from the Malpica-Tui unit, a band of metamorphic rock that stretches from north to south along Galicia’s coast.
Salnés Stats
The Salnés subzone produces 66% of Rías Baixas albariño, as well as 28% of the region’s godello. Grapes like caíño branco, loureira, and treixadura are also grown in smaller proportions.
The Val do Salnés also has subzone-specific labeling, with different requirements from the entry-level Rías Baixas classification. Wine labeled as Rías Baixas Salnés must contain at least 70% albariño and 30% other authorized grapes, all of which must be grown and vinified within the subzone.
Apart from wine production, the fishing and canning industries play an important role in the local economy. They’re complemented by tourism, with the Rías Baixas Wine Route, the area’s beaches, and coastal towns like Sanxenxo drawing summer visitors.
Wine from Val do Salnés
White wines from the Val do Salnés have a flavor profile consistent with the “classic” idea of Albariño: aromas of lemon and lime mix with riper peach and apricot notes, all over a good backbone of acidity, a certain salinity, and a characteristic bitterness on the finish. The cool climate brings out the citrus notes, but in warmer years peach and apricot aromas can dominate. This also depends on the winery, since some growers use wild yeasts and others use commercial yeasts that tend to give notes of overripe stone fruit rather than citrus.
Red wines from the Val do Salnés are starting to come into their own, as more growers with experience make wines from caíño or sousón. These wines are fairly rustic, tending toward volatile acidity at times. At their best, they carry aromas of fresh red cherries and black plums with hints of black pepper, as well as vegetal notes like green bell pepper and herbs. They have a great acidity that helps rather than hurts them, despite their low alcohol.
Want to know more? Dive deeper into Rías Baixas’ subzones.
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