Winemaker Notes
150-year-old vines produce a rich, polished and integrated white wine with deep flavors of ripe stone fruits, honeysuckle, roasted herbs and toasted vanilla spice that complement its creamy, nutty profile and mineral nuance.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Fruit off 100-year-old vines spend nine months on the lees for a creamy, nutty profile. Flavors and aromas of pears and peach sharpen their tune with jicama and a salty mineral thread. Bright and well-seasoned with basil and tarragon.
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James Suckling
Notes of pastry, roasted pineapple, minerals, cashews and fine lees on the nose. This is a flavorful and round verdejo, but subtle and tactile, with a bright streak of acidity passing through the palate and leaving a broad but fresh-toned mouth-feel.
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Wine Spectator
An expressive white, with rich flavors of baked apple, poached yellow peach, salted butter and tarragon backed by a spine of racy, well-meshed acidity. Medium- to full-bodied yet lithe and vibrant, with details of honey, mandarin orange, chamomile and salted almond lingering on the finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Medium yellow in the glass, this wine has aromas of lychee and white cherry. It is zesty on the palate, with flavors of pink grapefruit, yuzu, roast cashews and hazelnuts and a touch of lemon zest that continues into the bright finish.
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!