I have had a couple bottles of this Zarate and enjoyed them quite a bit. It’s certainly worth returning to.
How do you pronounce Rias Baixas?
Has anyone come across this wine or producer: 2014 Estreia Reserva Albariño Vinho Verde?
Well, still hooked here but have also found some very good Albarinho from Portugal…Ameal, Soalheiro always hit the spot!
Albarino seems to be one of those good cheap wines that hardly anyone knows about. I really enjoy it.
Chicken with shrimp pot pie so thinking of opening a nice Albarino from my stash…the 2013 Columna Rias Baixas. Anyone thinking of a nice dry white from the area?
You must try some of Raul Perez’s wines. He does absolutely amazing things with the Albarino grape.
The issue with Raul Perez’s wines is their rarity - you will never find them on LCBO shelves ever. The only place in Toronto that carries his Albarino wines is Opus. They have two: Sketch and Rare Avis, and they ain’t cheap. Well worth it, but it is a pretty penny.
Salt Wine Bar on Ossington has some decent Alvarinho as it is called in Portugal. I believe that Cava Restaurant also has some decent Albarino if I recall.
Apart from these places, finding Albarino wines with some level of complexity is quite difficult in Toronto.
Cheers.
It’s a such a wonderful wine when done correctly. Like others have mentioned it has been “dumbed down” a little at the lower price points. I like the analogy to Pinot Grigio.
On our trip through Spain last summer we tasted many, many bottles from 10euro to 80 euro. The more expensive ones being older - early 2000s. They do age quite well when made in that manner.
I do have to say the 15 euro bottle we had on the beach eating Paella was pretty damn good too.
George
Over a few nights, we enjoyed an excellent 2019 Columna Albarino [Rias Baixas]. It’s light bodied, 12.5% abv, unoaked. The label promises citrus and salinity on the palate, which I would concur with. A friend is a big fan of albarino’s, always hyping them, but I’ve never cared for the ones tried so far, maybe because I was only trying mass market / coop / negociants types. But trying an artisanal, smaller production (1300 cs) example explains what the fuss could be about. There’s some stone, perhaps from its granite soils, too. I quite like this zippy, minerally, lighter bodied blanc. I watched a documentary on the region - can’t remember if it was Netflix or Amazon Prime - and it was pretty cool, motivating me to look for producers other than mega bodegas like Burgans or Martin Codax. I’d lean toward drinking these very young, and would give this an A-.
It so amazing to live in a world where I can watch a documentary about a region, and then click a few buttons, and have a wine from that DO show up on my porch. These are the greatest times in the history of the universe for wine lovers.
The last two nights, we’ve been polishing off a Nomacorc sealed 2019 La Cana [Rias Baixas] albarino which is a rich medium bodied white at 13.5% abv. It’s not as crisp and light as the Columna I had upthread. It’s still very nice, and the Mrs had a second glass, which she doesn’t do often enough. There is a body to this that seems typical of importer’s Jorge Ordenez selections. The label promises that the hillside grapes offer up white peaches and ripe pears, which sounds like something I’d love, but I don’t get any of those flavors here. It’s more ripe lemons (non zesty) to me, and a tight nose. It’s pretty nice, and I enjoyed it - and would drink it again happily - but I don’t think I’d buy it to have at home. A gluggable B+ for me.
There seems to be a big quality gulf between the coops/negociants and the estates, or at least the ones that make it out to my area.