Winemaker Notes
A clean and bright wine. Fragrant at first, with aromas of white flowers, elder and acacia. It also has refreshing notes of ginger, and citric hints of mandarin, grapefruit and lime. When poured, hints of stone fruit come through, such as apricot and nectarine, along with mature fruits like melon. Persistent, long, creamy and unctuous. It has a fresh and well-integrated acidity, almost crystalline, ensuring that this is a highly age-worthy wine.
Blend: 86% Sauvignon Blanc, 14% Verdejo
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The balsamic white 2022 Le Domaine is herbal and spicy, keeping the freshness but reflecting the weather conditions, dry and warm. It has 13.8% alcohol and comes through as a powerful white that should age nicely in bottle. It's an unusual blend of 86% Sauvignon Blanc and 14% Verdejo, a little à la Bordeaux. It was bottled in June 2023. It finished fermenting in barrel, where it matured with the lees for seven months.
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Vinous
The 2021 LeDomaine is an 86% Sauvignon Blanc and 14% Verdejo blend from Sardón del Duero, aged six months in 20% new French oak barrels. Yellow with a golden sheen. The aromas include mint, lime, pink grapefruit, creamed corn and cedar. Dry and slightly lean with a subtle effervescence, the palate is refreshing, and the finish is long and oaky.
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Wine Spectator
A nicely oaky white, with lime blossom, toasted hazelnut and vanilla accents to the glazed apricot and tangerine fruit flavors. Vibrant acidity focuses the rich profile, creating a mouthwatering impression on the graphite- and spice-laced finish. Sauvignon Blanc and Verdejo.
The rebirth of a historic vineyard and of a whole winemaking tradition, the excellence of which remains intact, laid the foundations for today’s Abadía Retuerta winery. It now has over 30 years of history, as expert hands manage the vineyard by carefully looking after it and creating unique wines with their own Protected Designation of Origin.
Abadía Retuerta is a unique place where time stands still and feelings run high. Here, the past lives on in the present, and centuries of tradition and culture remain intact. It sits within an enclave bathed by the river Duero, which defines the traits of the surrounding terroir. Experts with great patience, know-how and anticipation really get the best out of the terrain: they respect the natural cycles and help the vines adapt to the austere climate of the region, in order to produce one of the estate’s most prized assets: its first-rate wine.
White grapes are used in two famous types of Spanish wine, Sherry and Cava, but we will limit this discussion to still whites. Let’s begin with perhaps the best known and most highly regarded internationally, Albariño . Produced in the region of Rías Baixas, just above Portugal in northwestern Spain, Albariño typically sees no or little oak and is medium to medium-plus in body. Aroma and flavor notes often include citrus and peach, often with subtle floral notes and a suggestion of sea spray, giving the wine a zesty feel. Often bottled as a single varietal, Albariño is sometimes blended with other indigenous grapes like Loureira and Treixadura. Try one of these Spanish whites from Forjas del Salnes.
Let’s look at a few other Spanish white wines. Godello also hails from northwestern Spain and presents a profile of grapefruit, minerality and a slight smoky quality. Enjoy a bottle from Bodegas Avancia. The region of Rueda, northwest of Madrid, is home to Verdejo , which makes refreshing, un-oaked white wines whose herbal vibrancy recalls Sauvignon Blanc . Protos makes a tasty version. Up north in the Basque region, we find the wine called Txakoli (sometimes called Txakolina). Pronounced “sha-ko-LEE,” it’s made from a local grape called Hondurrabi Zuri and is light, fresh, citrusy, dry … and with razor sharp acidity that makes it a fantastic partner with local seafood and tapas. Ameztoi Gertariako is a good Spanish white wine producer to check out.
The Penedѐs region, best known for the oceans of delicious Cava it sends to the world, also produces still Spanish whites, sometimes from international varieties like Chardonnay , and often from the same grapes used for Cava. These include Parellada, Xarel-lo and Macabeo. Avaline produces a fine example of Penedes white. Finally, we visit the Rioja region. While it is historically and internationally famous for its reds, Rioja also produces fine Spanish white wines. These are usually based on Viura (the local name for Macabeo) and make good everyday sippers, although some aged versions can be stunningly complex. A good place to start is the white Rioja from Bodegas Muga.
As you can see, Spanish white wines offer a vast opportunity for exploration!