Albillo or Albillo Real is a white
Spanish wine
Spanish wine () includes red, white, and sparkling wines produced throughout the country. Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain has over 1.2 million hectares (2.9 million acres) planted in wine grapes, making it the most widely pla ...
grape variety
This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...
[Albillo Real](_blank)
, Vitis International Variety Catalogue
The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung Gei ...
, accessed on June 26, 2010 planted primarily in the
Ribera del Duero
Ribera del Duero is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) located in the country's northern plateau and is one of eleven 'quality wine' regions within the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also one of several recogni ...
region, and also in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
,
Ávila
Ávila (, , ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila.
It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m abov ...
and
Galicia. The grape has mostly neutral flavors with a light perfume aroma. It has a high
glycerol
Glycerol (), also called glycerine in British English and glycerin in American English, is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known ...
index which confers smoothness to the wines.
It is sometimes added to the red wines of the Ribera del Duero for added aromatics.
[J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Wine Course'' Third Edition pg 100 Abbeville Press 2003 ] The berries are of average size, round in shape and golden in colour. The grape bunches are generally small and compact. It is an early ripening variety and in central Spain is usually harvested in mid August.
It is an authorized variety in the
Ribera del Duero
Ribera del Duero is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) located in the country's northern plateau and is one of eleven 'quality wine' regions within the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also one of several recogni ...
region and one of the main varieties in the
Vinos de Madrid DO
Vinos de Madrid is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP), located in the southern part of the region of Madrid (Spain). It covers 54 municipalities and is divided into the three sub-zones (Arganda, Navalcarnero, and San Martín), ea ...
.
History
The first written mention of Albillo is from the 15th century in ''Agricultura General'' by
Gabriel Alonso de Herrera
Gabriel Alonso de Herrera (1470–1539) was a Spanish author, best known for his ''Obra de Agricultura'' (Treatise on Agriculture), published in 1513 under the patronage of Cardinal Cisneros
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals ...
in which he says that the wine made from this variety is described as “very clear, with gentle color and taste”. He also states that the wine can be kept for quite some time but that it improves in quality if mixed with other varieties such as
Cigüente,
Moscatel
Muscatel ( ) is a type of wine made from muscat grapes. The term is now normally used in the United States to refer to a fortified wine made from these grapes rather than just any wine made from these grapes. This fortified muscatel became popu ...
or
Hebén
Hebén is a very rare white grape variety grown for wine and table grapes in Spain. It is an ancient variety found to have originated as a table grape in North Africa as Gibi. It is the parent variety of a large number of grapes grown in the Iberi ...
.
Simón de Roxas Clemente y Rubio
Simón de Roxas Cosme Damián Clemente y Rubio (27 September 1777, in Titaguas ( Valencia, Spain) – 27 February 1827, in Madrid) was a renowned Spanish botanist, considered to be the father of Spanish ampelography.
Biography
Early Days
...
, in ''Viticultura'', published in the 19th century mentions the sweetness of the must.
According to
Alain Huetz de Lemps
Alain Huetz de Lemps is a French geographer and botanist. He is a lecturer at Bordeaux University (Bordeaux, France) and Honoris Causa professor of the University of Valladolid (Valladolid, Spain). He wrote a primary reference work on wine in C ...
, the Albillo variety represented 36% of all vines planted in the
Toro region in 1751, and was also found in
Tierras de Medina, though not as much as the
Verdejo
Verdejo is a variety of wine grape that has long been grown in the Rueda region of Spain. The grape originated in North Africa, and was spread to Rueda in about the 11th Century, possibly by Mozarabs. Verdejo was generally used to make a strongl ...
variety. He also states that Albillo was to be found in the
Rioja Alta
La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and N ...
, and that it was used for making the traditional
txacolí
Txakoli (pronounced ) or chacolí (pronounced ) is a slightly sparkling, very dry white wine with high acidity and low alcohol content produced in the Spanish Basque Country, Cantabria and northern Burgos in Spain. Further afield, Chile is als ...
wine in the province of
Vizcaya.
Relationship to other varieties
Ampelographers once believed that the Sardinian wine grape
Albaranzeuli Bianco
Albaranzeuli bianco is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown primarily in Sardinia. Ampelographers use to believe that the grape was originally Spanish in origin and was introduced to the island when it was ruled by the Crown of Aragon. ...
, was a clone of Albillo. However,
DNA profiling
DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's DNA characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is called DNA barcoding.
DNA profiling is a forensic tec ...
conducted on the grapes in 2010 confirmed that the two grapes were different varieties.
[J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pgs 22-23,845-848 Allen Lane 2012 ]
Also in 2010,
ampelographer
Ampelography ( ἄμπελος, "vine" + γράφος, "writing") is the field of botany concerned with the identification and classification of grapevines, ''Vitis'' spp. Traditionally this has been done by comparing the shape and colour of the ...
s using DNA analysis discovered a parent-offspring relationship between Albillo and the
Italian wine
Italian wine is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the world's largest producer of wine, with an area of under vineyard cultivation, and contributing a 2013–2017 annual average of 48.3 million hl of wine. In 2018 Italy accounted for ...
grape variety
Prié blanc
Prié blanc is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown almost exclusively in the Valle d'Aosta DOC of northwest Italy. The Valle d'Aosta varietal wine Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle is made from Prié blanc grapes.
Ampelographers ...
which was growing in the Ávila province under the name Legiruela but it is not yet clear which grape is the parent and which grape is the offspring.
Synonyms
Albillo is also known by other names: Albilla, Albillo de Cebreros, Albillo de Madrid, Albillo de Toro, Albillo Castellano, Blanco del País, Castellano, Gual, Hoja Vuelta, Nieves Temprano, Pardillo, Abuela, Acerba, Acerva, Albarin blanco, Albil Prado, Albilo Kasteliano, Albillo blanco, Albillo blanco fino, Albillo Cagalon, Albillo Castillian, Albillo de Granada, Albillo de Huebla, Albillo de San Jeronimo, Albillo Dorado, Albillo Prado, Albillo Peco, Albillo Peco de Trebugena, Albillo Real, Albillo Temprano, Albillo Verdal, Albuela, Alvilla, Alvillo, Arvilla, Besto Maduro, Blanco Castellano, Blanco Pais, Blanco Ribera, Blanco Rivera, Cagalon, Cepa Canasta, Cepa de Lena, De Lena, Hogazuela, Hogomela, Nives Temprano, Ojo de Liebre, Pardillo de Albillo, Picapol, Prolifera, Temprano de Campo Real, Temprano de Mora, Uva de Lena, Uva Pardilla and Verdaguilla.
There are total of five grape varieties with 'Albillo' as part of their name: Albillo de Albacete, Albillo Krimskii, Albillo Mayor, Albillo Real, and Albillo Real de Granada. Of these, only Albillo Real is referred to as simply Albillo.
Albillo is also used as a synonym for the Spanish grape variety
Pardina.
Pardina
, Vitis International Variety Catalogue
The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung Gei ...
, accessed on June 26, 2010 Albillo Negro is one of Tempranillo
Tempranillo (also known as Ull de Llebre, Cencibel, Tinto Fino and Tinta del Pais in Spain, Aragonez or Tinta Roriz in Portugal, and several other synonyms elsewhere) is a black grape variety widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in its ...
's many synonyms.
References
External links
*http://www.vilaviniteca.es {{in lang, es
Spanish wine
Grape varieties of Spain
White wine grape varieties