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.