OK, maybe it is not my first, perhaps I have had a glass somewhere on our travels. I may have enjoyed it or not, but I was not paying attention to it. This is with attention!
2018 Granbazan Etiqueta Verde Albarino
This is a modestly priced white wine, about $20. It reminds me of wines that I am familiar with and enjoy, and it also offers something different. I would say it combines some of that sharp but pleasing acidity that both Muscadet and Sancerre can offer, with a very strong fruit profile which my palate reads as tart plum and lemon (maybe Meyer). It even seems a bit sweet, but I think it isn’t and that’s just the fruit intensity “talking”. Very delicious wine. For fans of Muscadet and Sancerre, I would recommend giving this a try. My bottle is the “green label” (Etiqueta Verde) and I understand that Granbazan also produces an “amber label” (Etiqueta Ambar) with extended lees contact. I will seek that one out.
Updated 6/25
I picked up a bottle of the amber label from the same producer – 2018 Granbazan Etiqueta Ambar Albarino which costs just a bit more than the green label. The grapes for this version are selected from better sites, only free-run juice is used, extended skin contact, and the wine spends more time on the lees. Like the green label, the amber label is stainless steel only with no oak. This is a rounder version of its more exhuberant brother. Still intense fruit, still crisp but in a more reserved way. The taste notes are not as extreme and play together nicely. There is also some (leesy?) creaminess that adds a pleasant dimension overall. I enjoyed a glass by itself and then a glass with rosemary chicken. I like an everyday drinker that is enjoyable as an unaccompanied glass of wine and also shows well with (appropriate) food. This does.
Jim’s judgement:
My expectation was that the amber label might be a supercharged version of the green label. On the contrary, it was a more sophisticated, nuanced wine. In some cases “rounder” in a crisp wine is not a desirable attribute, but I think it is very positive here. I enjoyed both these Albarino bottlings. The amber label is a more grown up version of the green label.