Rias Baixas, Spain

Tempus Vivendi is a blend of multiple plots from Sanxenxo at the very south tip of the Salnes valley, an outcrop of land that sticks straight out into the Atlantic Ocean. The climate here is noticably colder and more exposed than the rest of Salnes and consequently it is here that the Nanclares y Prieto wines become the most angular and austere. Riven with iodine and salt and structured by a bracing acidity Tempus Vivendi is about as far from the tropical, fruity Albarino often hidden under a garish label that's become a commercial success. Pitched and nervy when it's first released with a few months Tempus Vivendi settles into itself and develops into an immensely satisfying and serios version of Albarino.