Tinto y Blanco » Albariño

Adegas Galegas Dionisos 2008

Dave Worthington — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:12:30 +0000

Albariño season has reared its head a bit early this year, its been bloody hot for the last couple of days in Melbourne. Perfect for sitting in the yard with a bowl of clams after the sun goes down. Pitty I didn’t have any clams. I know I always go about shellfish with albariño, its only because its a perfect combination. If you haven’t already seen it, have a look at Spain on the Road again…. for an example of what happens in Galicia. However, if you do watch it, have the remote handy. Mario Batali must be one of the most boring and annoying people on TV, and there is plenty of him waffling on about crap in each episode he’s in…he should stay in the kitchen.

Anyway, back to the wine. I like the style of this wine, it balances the floral notes with firm acidity very well. There is that trademark minerality that shows up in good vintages in Rias Brixas, along with plenty of green pear, lemon and lime leaf complexity. Its just long enough and has a tangy lemon sherbet/hot rocks thing going on the finish. Very easy to drink, it’s on the firmer side of Albariño which makes it perfect with food. The price is a couple of bucks cheaper than last year too. 91 Pts.

Source: Ce Soir Imports Price: $28 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.galiciano.com

Other Vintages: 2007

Granbazan Albariño ‘Amber’ 2007

Dave Worthington — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:00:39 +0000

From the fairly classic, but low yielding 2007 vintage comes this funky bottle of Albarino. I do like the packaging on this stuff, very old school but some how appealing. I always seem to come to the late in the game, the 2008 should almost be here by now. The amber bottling is from the first free run juice, there is also the green bottle which I think includes a bit of pressings…but I’m not sure if its imported these days.

The standard white peach, jasmine and honeysuckle, crisp pear nose of albarino is in full force here, a touch of talc to go with it. Taught and lean in the mouth, acid behind the fruit driving it along. Plenty of crisp green pear on the palate, mixed up with a bit of lemon and lime rind and sprinkling of rocky minerals. A long finish that shows of that minerally acid and a hint of apricot that I always seem to find in this wine. Good drinkin’. 90 Pts.

Source: Rathdowne Cellars Price: $38 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.agrodebazansa.es

Other Vintages: 2005

Castro Martin Albariño 2007

Dave Worthington — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 04:02:20 +0000

I needed to take a quick snapshot on the way out, so the old ‘leaning’ photos from previous Tinto y Blanco themes has made a bit of a come back. It’s been a while since I’ve had a bottle of Castro Martin, so I decided to take this one out for some seafood. I was hoping for clams, but settled for salt and pepper squid along with some scallops with lemon grass and chili at Thanh Thanh on Victoria Street. Magic stuff.

I’ve said it in the past, but I’ll say it again: Castro Martin produce the most appealing and aromatic Albariño around. 2007 as a vintage is a return to the more minerally style, but with the usual Castro nose of white flowers (jasmine and honeysuckle), white peach, lemon rind and a touch of river rocks. A light straw colour, with the trademark Castro Martin nose of white peach, jasmine and honeysuckle with some green lemony goodness. Nicely textured in the mouth, which gives a sense of richness, but on the other side is quite lean and taught thanks to some cleansing acid. Just the thing for flabby shell fish. The palate shows more white peach, lemons, pear and apple, rounded out by some musk stick and minerals. A slight herbal lick on the finish. Excellent stuff, and it handles a bit of chili perfectly. 91 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Cost: $35 Closure: NormaCork

Web: www.bodegascastromartin.com

Other Vintages: 2004 2005 2006

Lagar de Cervera Albariño 2007

Dave Worthington — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 23:42:46 +0000

I’ve been watching Spain…on the Road Againover the weekend (it’s on foxtel at the moment). Its a very annoying show, the gang go to these great locations and amazing restaurants, but all they seem to show is shots of the girls in convertible Mercs and mind numbingly boring conversation between Gwyneth Paltrow and Mario Batali. I’m obviously not the target audience, but the episode on Gallicia is well done and gives a good sense of the food and wine of Rias Biaxas. Worth a look if you are interesting in doing a wine and food pilgrimage to Spain…

Regardless of all that, this is a cracking albariño from 2007. I am liking the 2007s, but from what I tasted in Spain last month, 2008 looks to be a return to the ‘classic’ lean and minerally expression of Albariño from Rias Biaxas. Bring it on. This seems to have had quite a price increase since I looked at the 2005, the RRP of $45 may be stretching the wallet a bit too far given the current econmoic situation.

Light straw colour with a nose of fresh white peach, apple and lemon peel, wet slatey rocks and a touch of bay leaf. Focused and tight in the mouth, with very fine acid and just a hint of oily texture. More pear and peach in the mouth, plenty of minerals and river stones with a long finish. Very enjoyable and is a textbook example of Albariño from O-Rosal. 91 Pts.

Source: Negociants Australia RRP: $45 Closure:Screwcap

Web: www.riojalta.com/lagar.htm

Martin Codax Albariño 2007

Dave Worthington — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 20:00:54 +0000

As much as I’d love to keep raving on about Rioja every day, Spain is a big place and there is loads of territory to cover. So Albarino it is for today, while tomorrow I’m catching up with the guys from Vega Sicilia to look at their new releases. There seems to be heaps of activity on the Spanish wine front in Australia at the moment. Anyway, this 2007 from Martin Codax is a monte for easy drinking….

Now this reminds me of the 2006 very much, mainly because there is a lot of fresh fruit notes and it has less of the driving acidity that made a bit of a return in the 2007 vintage (The 2008 vintage in Rias Baixas has produced wines that are more classic: minerally and focused, still with great fruit). Of course all of these are generalisations, and this wine has just proved that its not a good idea to take an overall impression of a vintage as gospel.

The nose kicks off with peach and pear, little white flowers and some lemon juice. Not that textured really, but it lacks a little focus and feels a bit flabby on the mid palate, this cleans up for a tight and long finish. The white peach, apple and lemon flavours are the main story in the mouth, a pin prick of acid on the finish and a nice floral tang. Very easy to drink, I’d like a tighter line here, but as fun by the glass in a bar it does the job well. 89 Pts.

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $30 Closure: Synthetic Cork

Web: www.martincodax.com

Pazo Pondal Albariño 2007

Dave Worthington — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 22:42:50 +0000

This is the big brother to the Leira, and its quite a step up. I’m not sure which sub-zone this is from but it looks and tastes like its from O’Rosal (ie similar to Valminor). This is more in the tight, minerally acid expression of albariño that I have an ever so slight preference for.

A killer nose of kaffier lime, honey suckle, white peach and lemon rind. In the mouth there is peach and lemon with zingy, minerally acid, musk and lime leaves. Kind of like a muscular ballerina: restrained and full of pleasure, lean and fine boned. Great summer drinking. 91 Pts

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $35 Closure: Synthetic Cork

Web: www.pazopondal.com

Pazo Pondal ‘Leira’ Albariño 2007

Dave Worthington — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 23:00:08 +0000

A box of white wines turned up the other day, which would be perfect if we actually had some summer weather here in Melbourne. Pazo Pondal is not a producer I have seen before, they have this wine from Condardo de Tea which is more inland and swampy than the two sub regions that most of the Albariño we see comes from: O Rosal and Val do Salnés. There is a little sticker saying Robert Parker 90 Points on the bottle, as usual I am a few points behind…

Very floral, sweet peach, white musk, some green herbs at times, a touch of lemon candy. Just the right texture, with a peach and pear combo, a touch of funky undergrowth and plenty of minerally acid. It lacks a little direction in the mouth, but pulls it all together for a focused finish. Quite a tidy wine from Condado de Tea. 87 Pts.

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $29 Closure: Synthetic Cork

Web: www.pazopondal.com

Castro Martin A2O Albarino 2006

Dave Worthington — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:25:52 +0000

This is another wine from Castro Martin. It used to be called Avian, but due to a large water brand getting a bit nervous it is now called A20. You can read the full story over here on their blog. The whole thing is a bit silly really, but I think the new name is very appropriate given the circumstances.

This wine is more aimed at the and at the bar/bistro set, it’s fun wine to enjoy with your mates and a bit of food. The fruit is sourced from growers in Valle del Salnés (opposed to Castro Martin which is from estate owned vineyards).

Fresh melon and white peach on the nose, with a touch of honeysuckle and lemon. I get the impression of richness from the texture, but there is also a fair bit of rich melon and white peach in here as well. Being an 06 there is a not of minerals about, but enough acid to cut through some oily prawns and shellfish. Good length with a bit of white peach on the finish. This would be great by the glass with some clams. 88 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Cost: $27 Closure: Synthetic Cork

Web: www.bodegascastromartin.com

Rusty Fig Albarino 2008

Dave Worthington — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:00:20 +0000

A couple of Aussie whites turned up in the post the other day, an Albarino and a Verdelho from Rusty Fig in Bermagui. I know Bermaguai in Queensland, this one is on the south coast in NSW. I had a look at these on the weekend, they are both really interesting and show plenty of promise. This is the first wine I remember having from this region, so I have nothing smart to say on the climate etc, however these look good.

The nose opens up with plenty of lemon and bay leaf, just a touch of white flowers followed by some melon. Very tight and focused in the mouth, plenty of chalky acid and good length. Lean and fresh. On the palate things are more in the lemon, melon and underripe peach (in a good way) spectrum. I’d like a bit more ripe fruit here, some white peach etc, however it is difficult to get the fruit ripe enough yet keep the acid up in many areas of Australia. None the less, very enjoyable. 87 Pts.

Source: Rusty Fig Wines Price: $25 Closure:Screwcap

Web: www.rustyfigwines.com.au

Los Hermanos Albariño 2008

Dave Worthington — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 00:50:50 +0000

I don’t drink enough of the local wines made from Spanish or Portuguese varieties. It’s not that I don’t think they’re up to scratch, but I usually have my hands full keeping up with the imported stuff. With the ever dropping dollar, imports are going to get more expensive and wines like this may well fill the hole when most imported Albariños are pushing $35 to $40 bucks a bottle.

This is the first wine from this label, which means the siblings in spanish. The packaging is outstanding, the wine shows real promise too. The fruit is from the King Valley.

Peach, jasmine a little lime and even a some rocky minerals. Tight with a backbone of driving acid underneath some good fruit. Apple and and just ripe white peach, lemony acid with a lime sherbet thing on finish, which is quite long. A bit of talc at times too. This is a very good example of Aussie albariño, it had me ticking all of the varietal boxes on the way through. 89 Pts.

Source: Crittenden Estate Cost: $28 Closure:Screwcap

Valmiñor 2007

Dave Worthington — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:10:16 +0000

The number of retailer’s I’ve heard say “you’ll be on to a winner if you put some albariño underscrew cap and charge $20 for it” is amazing and they’re right. Well this goes halfway there, screwcap really suits the style too. Of course, I can’t really tell if it’s the vintage or the closure without a cork closed bottle to compare with, but this is the freshest tasting albariño I’ve had outside Spain or Portugal.

Fresh and crisp are the two best words for this. I could add early season peach, loads of minerals, lemon peel and a dash of kaffir lime leaves and all the usual albariño descriptors but that would complicate it too much. This is classic valmiñor: tight and focused with intensely minerally acid and a long tangy finish of white peach and lime leaves. Excellent stuff, almost Chablis like in character. I’m loving these 07 Albariños…92 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $34 Closure: Screwcap

Web: www.adegasvalminor.com

Albariño de Fefiñanes 2007

Dave Worthington — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 01:37:02 +0000

Spring is finally here. And it’s not the weather that’s telling me that, its the 9 Spanish rosados and bunch of whites that are sitting in the tasting pile. Many of them in screwcap for the first time. The warmer weather is great, but I’m regretting having a fair bit of grass in the yard. I can see I’ll be out with the mower every couple weeks again soon. On the upside, daylight saving starts 3 weeks early this year, so I’m looking forward to getting out to the BBQ after work.

So the first up is a wine that’s become a bit of a favourite. I find the Fefinanes really shows the best of each vintage and always shows real class. In 2007, Rias Baixas was one of the few regions to rate the vintage as Excellent. There was less fruit to go around but from what I’ve seen so far the wines look spot on.

An aromatic nose with white peach, pear and apple, some musky white flowers, and lemon peel. This vintage sees a return of the flinty, minerally acid that I love in albariño, along with the usual textured mouth feel. The balance is very good and the length is long. The palate shows apples with a lemon/lime combo, some peach towards the finish and flinty stones and minerals. This is hitting all the right buttons for me, another classic from the chaps at Fefiñanes. 92 Pts.

Source: Toro/Woods wines Price: Around $40 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.fefinanes.com

Other Vintages: 2005, 2006

Pazo San Mauro Albariño 2007

Dave Worthington — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:00:15 +0000

Of the main regions of Rias Brixas, Condado de Tea is the least represented in Australia. The region is a bit more challenging than Val do Salnés and O Rosal, its a more inland with river valleys, a touch warmer and the soils are more solid and slatey. This wine is made by Cristina Mantilla, who also makes Valmiñor. Expect classic Albariño with plenty of flavour and a touch of minerals.

Fairly much text book albariño on the nose: freshly sliced lemons, a shake of white peaches, a bit of jasmine and lime blossom. A convincing mix of texture with a tight acid backbone, gives good mouthfeel. It’s very long on the finish with some rocky minerals and a lemon tang. Clean, fresh, and direct, the palate mirrors the nose for the most part. A classy act. 90 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $35 Closure: Conventional Cork

Martin Codax ‘Burgans’ 2006

Dave Worthington — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:00:08 +0000

A month or so ago I bought a bottle of this wine and the screwcap was faulty. I had the replacement scheduled for tasting on Monday night, when I got an email from the wine buyer for Vintage Cellars followed by a chat on the phone about closures and their range of Spanish wine. It turns out that there was a bit of a problem with this batch, about 1% of the batch had a faulty or loose screwcap. Still better than cork according to most failure statistics. The fault has been noted and action is being taken to resolve the fault.

So on to the wine. This is the entry level wine for Martin Codax and its probably the only Spanish Albariño available under $20. And its a good wine too.

Aromas of white peach, lime, white flowers and a subtle muskiness. Its got texture in the mouth, its a bit flabby and sweet in the middle, but the acid balances this out for a clean finish. Apple and white peach on the palate with a bit of flint and lemon oil. It’s a well priced drink, It’s not going to knock you off your feet, but you can now afford to drink Spanish albariño any night of the week. 87 Pts.

Source: Vintage Cellars Price: $16.50 Closure: Screwcap

Web: www.martincodax.com

Mar del Frades Albariño 2006

Dave Worthington — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 00:15:38 +0000

This albariño is a little bit different to many of the wines we have seen here in Australia. And even though most albariños are food wines, this one is especially so. These guys really emphasise the relationship between the sea and the food and wine traditions of Galicia, right down to the blue bottle with waves at its base. There is also a little gimmick here, if you look at the larger image there is no blue ship on the front label. If you bung the bottle in the fridge for a bit, a blue ship will appear when the wine is cold enough to drink.

Something a bit different on the nose: honeysuckle, lemon, ripe melon and seaside undergrowth. In the mouth its an acid forward style, showing some minerals followed up some apple, peach and apricot fruit in the middle. The finish shows off more crunchy minerals and tangy acid. A big bowl of mussels is in order when you’ve got a bottle of this in the fridge, but maybe a bit too much acid for drinking by itself. 89Pts

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $40 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.mardefrades.com