Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
This blend is primarily treixadura, with lado, torrontés and albariño, a selection from the youngest vines—between 10 and 25 years old—Luis Anxo Rodríguez farms in Arnoia. The ripeness of the fruit transforms into scents of nuts and honey, as well as watermelon. The flavors are just as ripe and concentrated but the texture is firm, focused on the task of holding all that fruit. Chill it for grilled sausage-stuffed calamari.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Viña de Martín Os Pasás is mostly (70%) young-ish Treixadura from different plots on granite soils. It also has some Albariño, Lado and Torrontés. It fermented with natural yeasts and was kept in tank for one year before bottling, spending the first three months in contact with the lees. 2015 was a healthy vintage that Luis Anxo considers to be very good. This follows the house style: complex, subtle, clean and with elegance. The palate shows great liveliness and freshness, especially for the nature of the year. It has incredible depth and purity.
Rating: 92+
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!