Ilkka was talking about Grillo, not Alvarinho or Albariño.
And I’m with him - normally I wouldn’t even think of talking about Grillo and Albariño on the same page - Albariño can make some of the most thrilling world-class whites in Spain and Portugal and Grillo, well, nothing of real interest so far.
But if there is - like Ilkka said - a Pepe or Valentini of Grillo, I’m definitely interested. I believe there is always a chance that in the right hands, even the most underwhelming and boring grape vatiety can produce stunning results.
After all, I’ve had a superb Welschriesling, a characterful Müller-Thurgau and several fantastic Fendants!
It wasn’t just that obvious, it took me a few tries to understand where you were getting at. Still, I think Ilkka’s point stands: while a great deal of poor-quality Alvarinho goes to generic VV blends, there are still lots of superb varietal (and blended) Alvarinho wines, whereas I’m not even sure if I can think of any similarly great varietal Grillo wines.
And on the Galician side, I think even the most inexpensive varietal Albariños tend to be of the same quality - or even better - than most of the varietal Grillos I know. Of course I haven’t tasted Grillo wines as extensively as Albariños, but this is the impression I have based on the wines I’ve tasted thus far.
Why? She constantly makes the best expressions of the variety!
However, I think on the quality level these wines still give good run for the money:
No complaints from me about Grillo’s ability to deliver something interesting for little money. It’s a pretty safe choice if seen on the UK’s heavily marked up restaurant wine lists. As with others, Albarino is similarly reliable, but yes I’ve found some super more serious versions (mostly the quality end of Vinho verde), still only very moderately expensive. As for Vinho Verde, yes there’s some pretty dull stuff (sometimes petillant to try and inject some life into it) that sells for next to nothing in Portugal, but comes in at £6-7 on the shelves in the UK. How much of that is alvarinho I don’t know, as it’s but one of the permitted grapes.
Coincidentally(?), I started checking out Albarino/Alvarinho just about this time. (I guess that I am a strong ‘influencee’.)
My experience is limited to modestly priced bottles, mostly in the range of $15-$25. I don’t think that I have found an Albarino/Alvarinho that I didn’t enjoy, even closer to $10. Among my favorites have been Zarate, Soalheiro Granit, Granbazan Etiqueta Ambar and maybe one or two others that I am forgetting.
I’m cool with Albariño, where I feel they provide sufficient drinkers for the buck. Not so much with the Alvarinho that I’ve had, though. I tend to drink the ones < $20 (or cheaper when happen to be traveling in the regions).
I’ve had very few Grillo, mostly during 1 week in Sicily. None impressed me enough to seek them out back in the States.
It’s deserving, imo. We enjoy it routinely as an appetizer, summer wine. I do appreciate its increased availability on wine lists. It’s a reliable alternative for my Sauv Blanc loving wife.
Sorry to disappoint you but I haven’t found the Pepe-Grillo yet and my comment was towards the wines with good tension and a healthy dose of salinity but ultimately simple, quaffable, and thirst quencher for Miami’s eternal summer.
Can the variety deliver more profound wines in the hands of the right producer? I would say that the first problem with Grillo is where is mostly planted, the province of Trapani. Great Marsala comes from Trapani but I haven’t had any interesting still wine from there yet. The best examples of Grillo that I’ve tried are from the province of Palermo, Feudo Disisa (1), and Centopassi (2) being two of them. Again, simple but enjoyable wines and a good alternative for that kind of Albariño/Alvarinho.
But ultimately, I think that if there is something like a “Book on Sicilian quality wines”, that book would be plenty of blank pages yet to be written, so I’ll keep my eyes open in the search for Grillo’s next level and report back if I find it
(1) The vast majority of Feudo Disisa’s portfolio is international stylized wines with little or no sense of place (good quality, but ultimately boring). However, it seems that the white wine department missed that particular memo and their Grillo and Catarrato are quite the opposite.
(2) From their website: “Centopassi is the winemaking entity of Libera Terra cooperatives that cultivate land confiscated from the mafia in Sicily”. So when we talk about “wines with tension” in this case the tension is real!
I’ve just learned about a serious candidate for this title: Arianna Occhipinti’s SM Vino di Contrada Sicilia Bianco. I’ve ordered a bottle so I’ll report back once I try it.
The Italian grape that best fits the same profile as Albarino is Falanghina. I’ve enjoyed it with seafood for decades, but no examples are either better or less expensive than good Albarino.
Grillo just doesn’t have the aromatics to be in the same category. Catarratto and Carricante are closer, but still don’t combine freshness and aromatics in the same way.
