The Wine of the Month for January is a Spanish Albarino, something many of you have probably never heard of. It is an excellent seafood wine, for reasons I will detail below, and goes especially well with Clinton Hannaford’s Spicy Roll Tuna Sushi (something I profiled in Post #14). This particular Albarino is from Bodega Terras Gauda, in the Rias Baixas region, in a small subzone called O Rosal (2021) and is not currently available at Clinton Wine & Spirits. But, it can be had at the Saratoga Wine Exchange in Billy’s price range.
The Spanish Albarino has managed to fly “under the radar” for most American wine drinkers for years. It is only lately that the more knowledgeable wine drinkers have come to relish this very affordable wine. It comes from the northwest of Spain, right on the coast in a larger area known as Galatia (according to my NWS notes and the WAoW). Found on the coast of Galatia (right next to Portugal) is a smaller sub-region known as Rais Baixas and contained within it are 5 subzones, one of which is O Rosal. Rugged fjords, lined with forested hills of granite that are constantly bathed in sea mist, make this a very damp, green corner of Spain. The perfect place to grow the thick skinned Albarino grape (as it’s very mildew resistant). Because of its physical isolation, it wasn’t until the 1980’s that folks outside of this region began to discover this very popular local wine.
As far as tasting notes goes (both mine & Wine Spectator’s – WS), this wine is tangy and bright yellow, with lime citrus and flavors of mandarin orange & grated ginger. It has a light plushness in texture, mouthwatering acidity, and a briny base (or seashells on the nose). It is chalky & zesty with a medium body and a bone-dry finish. Although primarily Albarino, it does have some Caino and Loureiro blended in. This very affordable wine is what I like to call the Spanish Sauvignon Blanc , and as such goes extremely well with most seafood, especially sushi. You should be able to find the 2022 version available in most decent sized liquor stores (some 2021’s may still be on the shelves). Both WS and James Suckling rated this wine as a 91.
That should do it for this one. Next week, I will go back to finish France’s wine regions in another Education post. If you want to learn about Bordeaux, be sure to check it out. Cheers!
2 responses to “Blog Post #20 – Wine of the Month (January)”
An intriguing discussion is definitely worth comment.
I do believe that you need to write more on this issue,
it might not be a taboo subject but generally people do
not talk about such topics. To the next! All the best!!
Thanks again for the comment.