Winemaker Notes
Clear gold color. Fresh quince and green apple skin aromas. The palate is bright and tart with a good fleshy palate. Refreshing stuff.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I tasted the 2016 Vina Mein, which is from different vineyards in the Avia Valley, mostly Treixadura, Godello and small percentages of the other white varieties. This fermented with indigenous yeasts, and the vineyards have been stripped of chemicals and herbicides, each plot fermented separately. There are some notes of white fruit, and it feels quite primary and undeveloped, with balsamic aromas (bay leaf, fennel and aniseed) and something lanolin-like that I associate with the baby fat of such a young white. The tropical aromas from yesteryear have disappeared; it's a lot more serious with a touch of moss, river stones, more austere. The palate is medium-bodied with still some white fruit flavors and balanced acidity but with the texture and nerve provided by the granite soils. This is the finest regular Vina Mein I remember tasting ever. 72,000 bottles were produced in 2016.
Rating: 91+ -
Wine Spectator
This white is firm and focused, with rapier acidity supporting tart peach, grassy and flinty flavors. Features a lovely stony purity that leaves a clean, floral finish. Treixadura, Godello, Loureira, Albariño, Torrontés and Lado. Drink now through 2021.
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!