Winemaker Notes
The color is an enticing straw-lemon in color with greenish highlights. Quíbia has aromas of white peach, pear, sea brine and jasmine. On the palate the wine is weighty with silky olive oil texture and concentrated flavors of ripe peach, Anjou pear and capers. Crisp, lively and well balanced.
This wine pairs beautifully with bay scallops, langoustines, mussels in a butter broth, and seafood paella.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There was a hailstorm September 13-14, but the grapes for the 2019 Quíbia had already been picked. This sort of blanc de noirs was produced as a white, with a majority of red grapes matured in tank with lees before bottling. It's a fruit-driven and approachable white closed with a screw cap and destined for short-term consumption. It was produced in a clean and expressive way without terrible complexity. This 2019 feels riper, and the palate reveals a softer mouthfeel, tender and light. 60,000 bottles. It was bottled between January and February 2020.
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!