Valminor Davila 2004

I've been looking for some new white wines from Spain, so I ordered this in. It's Valminor's upscale wine from Rias Brixas, made from 55% Albarino and two other local grape varitaties, loureiro (30%) and treixadura (15%).  I'd never heard of them either, but this blend makes for a very interesting wine.

The packaging is quite good too, it describes the relationship between the elements that go into the making of the wine.  Quite well done.

Very different on the nose, apples, apricots, and cucumber with a bit of fennel seed.  There is a bit of a spritzy feeling in the mouth, citrus, white peach and minerals with some white pepper.  Its quite powerful with noticeable acid and a persistent finish.  An interesting wine,  perhaps it needs a few years to show its best?  89 Pts.

Source: Boccaccio Cellars Price: Around $40 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.adegasvalminor.com

Valminor Albarino 2005

Traditionally wines from this region are drunk fairly quickly after fermentation.  This wine is out to distribution about 40-60 days after picking.  This is starting to change now with some producers leaving the wines in storage for a year after bottling, many wine critics agree with this saying that the wines are much better for it.  I don't think anyone is jetting out fresh Albarino as with Beaujolais Nouvea, so we'll have to make do with the 1 year old stuff.    

Peach blossom and white flowers on the nose, with a dash of lemon, melon and hay in there is well.  Plenty of acid and freshness in the mouth with some complex flavours: white peach, citrus and minerals.  The finish is quite long and has a white pepper and anise thing going on.  This should be great with shellfish, I drank it with seafood paella and it was a treat. Drink over the next 3 years. 90 Pts.

Source: Boccaccio Cellars Price: $30 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.adegasvalminor.com

Castro Martin Albarino 2004

I was quite surprised to find a synthetic cork when I opened this wine, in fact this wine was full of surprises.  It is the first wine with an "alternative closure" for Tinto y Blanco actually.  I'd prefer a screwcap for white wines, but it is a move in the right direction all the same. 

I never realised how old some of the vines in Rias Baixas are, the average vine age for this wine is 50 years. I really liked this wine at an off-line a few months ago as was quite keen to have a look at it in more detail.  I try to make sure that Albarino is not super cold when I drink it, for me it needs to be around 12 degrees or above to show it's best. 

Very pale, almost translucent. Apple and white peach on the nose with some white flowers. Not what I was expecting in the mouth, the wine seems soft and broad rather than the crisp and tight I was looking for.  Its still quite fresh, with loads of lemon, white peach, and a bit of apple.  The surprise was the acid, while it's there, its in the background, almost as an after thought. Let it warm up a bit and the wine appears to be more integrated, becomes a more focused with the aromatic characters showing their stuff.  An interesting wine, I'll have another look at it in summer.  88 Pts.

Source: Retail RRP: $25 Closure: Synthetic Cork

Web: www.bodegascastromartin.com

Agro de Bazan Granbazan Rias Baixas Albariño Verde 2003

Seeing as the site is called Tinto y Blanco, its about time for some blanco. Albarino seems to be the great white hope in Spain at the moment. Some very good Albarino based wines are hitting the shelves here in Australia and it is being planted in a number areas around the country.

According to rumour and legend, it is was originally riesling brought to Rias Baixas by German monks on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela on the Way of St. James.

Pale golden. Very fresh on the nose, lemon, grapefruit and white peach, crushed sea shells, and a bit of hay. Nice and crisp in the mouth, a core of lemon with apple and and peach flavours as it warms  up. A  wiff of white pepper of all things. Quite a bit of minerally acid here.  Drink it with some fresh shellfish and you'll be very happy. At its best now, but could go a couple of years.  87 Pts.

Source: Retail RRP: $25 Closure: Cork

Web: www.agrodebazansa.es