RED BLENDS: SPAIN

+RUN AWAY NOW+
Abancay Mascara del Sol Crianza 
Espana: Aragon
70% Tempranillo, 30% Merlot (red)
2009
75 pts
$6.99
Ahh, Trader Joe's. It's no secret that I prefer to shop--including for wine--at family-owned, local businesses, instead of big box chains (and I usually do). But Trader Joe's does feature a few wines I know offer excellent quality for price--such as Mionetto's Il Proseco and Segura Viudas Brut Cava--so I figured what-the-hell, I'll stop by and see what's shaking in the wine aisle at our local Trader Joe's. Upon arrival, an enthusiastic young man asked if I wanted to taste the Gruner Veltliner they feature. After pulling myself together (initially shocked they were even selling Gruner), I replied, "Why, yes, thank you. I Would love to try it." And then I did--and that's when things went terribly wrong. The Gruner--Hungarian, in fact, which I admit is pretty cool--was atrocious. Tasted like a cheaply made Sauvignon Blanc from 7-11. "Well," the gentleman said, "You're not going to get the taste of a true Gruner for six dollars." Hard to argue with that. But pressing on, I picked up a few bottles of various low-priced wines (for our purposes today, that's under $8.00) to take home and taste. Among them was the 2009 Abancay Mascara del Sol Crianza from northeast Spain. This wine is attractive in the glass, colored a pleasing deep plum. On the nose, one gets a hint of black cherry (you have to work for it), but more than anything, the aroma is that medicinal sort of alcohol that often indicates an imbalanced flavor profile dominated by alcohol. That my friends, is the good news. The taste? Ninety parts water, one part cherry juice, with maybe the core of a just-eaten plum dropped in for "complexity." Don't get me wrong, there is nothing particularly offensive about this wine. The problem is that it has, essentially, no flavor, no finish, a light, water-like body, and absolutely no reason to exist beyond it's pretty color and cheap price. No Old World Tempranillo earthiness, no pleasing cherries, no juicy plums, no tobacco, no vanilla, no full-bodied richness, in a word, nothing. And Crianza (aged at least one year in oak and a year to one-and-a-half years in the bottle)? Would love to know where that oak came from. Still, I'm not ready just yet to dismiss Trader Joe's entirely as a wine retailer. On the other hand, given my experience this weekend with their Hungarian Gruner and this so-called Tempranillo-Merlot blend, I do recommend caution, perhaps avoiding the wines under $10.00, at least, and see where that gets you. Because remember this: it's only really a bargain if you can actually stomach drinking the wine when you get home.  

 
+MUST TRY+
Borsao Crianza Seleccion (by Bordegas Borsao)Espana: Aragon (Campo de Borja)
A Blend: 50% Grenache, 25% Tempranillo and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon (red)
2006
90+ pts
$14.99
Picked up the Borsao Crianza at Kafka Wine last month. The color is a striking mahogany. The pleasing, multi-layered aroma is rich in black pepper, but also features candied cherries, manure and petrol (really). Spain's official crianza designation means the wine is two years old when sold, with about half of that time spent in oak (in the case of this Borsao, a combination of French and American oak). The taste profile of this dry red is also complex (amazingly so for a wine that retails under fifteen bucks), offering spiciness along with bright cherries, plums, a little hot pepper, a floral component (gentle rose petal bitterness) on the back end, and some soft, subtle oak (French style)...all with an amazing length. Earlier reviewed the simple Borsao red (which retails for about $7.00), and while that discount wine is okay for the dough, the 2006 Borsao Crianza is an absolute steal at $15.00.  

MUST TRY!
Mestizaje (by Bodegas Mustiguillo)Espana: Valencia
A Blend of Bobal, Tempranillo, Garnacha and Cabernet Sauvignon (red)
2006
87+ pts
$18.99
This Spanish red blends 70% Bobal (a grape I'd never tried before), with the remainder composed of Tempranillo (one of my favorites), Garnacha, and Cab. I have to be honest: I think Jay Miller of Wine Advocate missed this one. Miller gave this a whopping 91 points. I find this to be a servicable wine, around 87+ points for my palette...decent enough, but not a Must Try wine. The nose is musty (not a bad thing, necessarily), with red berries. The color is a dark ruby red, actually quite nice. But I find the taste--obviously the key point for any wine--lacking. The tannins are nice and firm (good pucker quality) and the length is good, but the taste for my palette falls flat, even a bit bitter to me, and overpowering. Maybe because by 2010 this wine has lost its soul (or maybe the mushroom plus mineral taste profile just doesn't appeal to me); it's just not a wine I love. I do like its earthiness, and the dark cherry overtones are not unpleasant, but the whole thing seems overpowered, in the end, by a mushroom-like mustiness that's not for me. If you like mushrooms a lot, this might be a good try for you.

Borsao Red Wine (by Bodegas Borsao)Espana: Aragon (Campo de Borja)
Blend: Grenache 80%, Tempranillo 20% (red)
2005
$6.99
85+ pts
Not bad for a discount wine, and so-called experts say this winery is reliable; a very old world, 'dirty' wine, with strong manure, earth and mineral components, to me; can find on sale for $5.99, often; for my pallete, though, a little too dirty; servicible and affordable, but not a favorite; drink now when you have it; not a wine to hold.

TEMPRANILLO: SPAIN

+MUST TRY+
Bodegas Lan Rioja Crianza
Espana: Rioja
100% Tempranillo (red)
2006
$10.99
89 pts
Two strong Tempranillos in a row! The 2006 LAN Rioja Crianza, available at Binny's for under eleven bucks, is a top-notch Spanish red priced about the same as the Kool-Aid wines that line the shelves of most grocery stores. Deep ruby red in the color, this wine offers red fruit, black pepper and a hint of leather on the nose. The taste profile features plum, dark cherry, plenty of earthy barnyard (in true Old World style), and a bit of vanilla on the back end. There's a nice balance to this wine, too, with the red fruit and earthiness and hints of oak working in concert, each complementing the others and ultimately blending nicely into a unified whole...no showboats in this glass! Highly recommend the Lan Rioja Crianza. Drawbacks? Flavor a bit light on the finish, and the length is decent but not great. But hey, for ten bucks, you'd have a very hard time IMO finding a better vino tinto. Salud!


+MUST TRY+
Bodegas Ochoa Garnacha & Tempranillo
Espana: Navarra
50% Tempranillo, 50% Garnacha (red blend)
2008
$13.00
90 pts
At $13.00, this is a great buy...a very solid wine for little dough. The nose offers vanilla, tobacco, black cherry and white pepper. For $13.00, that's a whole lot on the aroma. Hell, I'd pay five bucks just to smell this wine. It really is fragrant and appealing. The initial attack offers raspberry & plums, followed by mucho tobacco and, on the very back end of the taste profile, flowers and some Spanish dirt, earth. Color is a pretty dark purple. The length? Nice, as well. Recently had an entry-level Barolo I paid over thirty bucks for, and it was nowhere near as rich, complex and rewarding as the Ochoa Garnacha & Tempranillo. Picked this up at Vino 100 on Elston. And I recommend it: a definite +MUST TRY+. Could be one of my Wines of Winter 2011-12!

Tierra de Vientos Tempranillo (by Bodegas Altizia)
Espana: Castilla-La Mancha
Tempranillo (red)
2005
$11.99
87 pts
The Tierra de Vientos is a rich and beautiful violet color, and offers a wonderful nose with tart cherries--a pleasing Sweet Tart candy aroma that makes me salivate--with some licorice or cocoa notes. There is also a unique savory quality to the nose, almost gamy. On the palette, the initial attack is full of the savoriness, followed by lots of black licorice and then, on the finish, the bright cherries. While I certainly appreciate the variety of flavors this wine offers--and it possesses a decent length, too--the mid-palette really lacks punch. It's a little like a movie with an intriguing start, a long dull middle, and a fun ending. It won't win an Oscar, but at this price, and given how much garbage is out there at any given time, it's worth checking out On Demand, after it's left theaters. By no means is this a true Spanish Tempranillo (no earth here at all, not much to indicate its Old World roots, and over-oaked for my taste) but an interesting little wine at a discount price--and one I'd buy again, but only in a pinch. PS: Translation? Tierra de Vientos = Wind of the Earth: kind of cheesy.

Ercavio Tempranillo Roble
Espana: Manchuela
Tempranillo (red)
2007
$10.99
84 pts
This is an average Tempranillo, despite the Wine Advocate's ridiculously high 90+ rating. Yikes. It's not offensive, mind you, but it's just there. The color is absolutely gorgeous...black cherry, ruby red. The taste offers the same black cherries, along with a little lingering black pepper on the back end, but the mid-palette is a weak vanishing act, and the weight is awfully light. Length, though, is above average. Offers nice, soft tannins. Drinkable, but in the end, lacking flavor, complexity, and the ability to stand up to most foods one would enjoy with Spanish red. In a pinch would be better than most $10.00 reds, but overall, just an okay wine.

Protocolo (by Dominio De Eguren)
Espana: Manchuela
Tempranillo (red)
2006
$7.99
86+ pts
Decent Spanish red at a discount price; hint of pepper, licorice; not bad for $8.00. Clearly an Old World, musty kind of flavor profile that many will not like, but I don't mind. However, for just $5.00 more you can land the Ergo Tempranillo (see below), which is, for me, a 90+ wine. But if had only $8.00 to spend and had to drink a Tempranillo here in the states...I'd go with this one. (:

Sierra Cantabria Crianza (by Bodegas Sierra Cantabria)
Espana: Rioja
Tempranillo + Graciano (red)
2004
84 pts
Bought in Spain in December 2008; a spicy, really hot red; lots of pepper; not my favorite Spanish red.

+MUST TRY+
Ergo Tempranillo (by Bodegas Martin Codax)
Espana: Rioja
Tempranillo 85%, Mazuelo 15% (red)
2006
$12.99
90 pts
This is an outstanding Spanish red, with good black pepper and tobacco (the tobacco really pops on the bouquet). The red fruit is subtle but rewarding, and the Ergo offers a rock-solid finish and very good length. Dana bought this for me once, and after a quick smell and a single taste, I was hooked. Along with the da Vinci Chianti, this is my winter workhorse wine. Affordable, a great example of what the Spaniards from Rioja can do with Tempranillo, and readily available here at home. Not easy to find a $13.00 wine with this kind of integrity and reliability, year after year. This one's a MUST TRY!

GARNARCHA: SPAIN

Bodegas Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha
Spain: Zaragoza (Borja)
Garnacha (red)
2008
$16.99
88 pts
Just about everybody seems to love Tres Picos (Three Wine Guys, Robert Parker, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar & more), but while I certainly have a lot of respect for Bodegas Borsao (a great producer), the Tres Picos is a good--but not great--wine. The name Tres Picos probably refers to the early 20th Century Spanish novella & ballet El Sombrero de Tres Picos, or The Three-Cornered Hat, about a government official who tries to seduce a miller's wife. Unlike the miller's wife, I wanted to fall for this wine, having read the rave reviews. But it just wasn't there. It's not that Tres Picos doesn't have its attractive qualities. The color is a deep black cherry with hints of purple, rich and inviting. Cherries and flowers and some underlying pepper explode from the nose. Very nice. In the mouth, one gets mature dark cherries and some more flowers, and I also get a green herbal finish. The mouth feel is smooth and velvety, and the length is solid. So what's my problem here? Well, not much. I mean, it's a solid wine that I give 88 points, and in the true spirit of the varietal, this garnacha would go great with a number of flavorful, savory foods. But it just doesn't blow me away. The fruit is rewarding, lasting through the initial attack into the mid-palette, but the floral and herbal components that follow the cherries are a bit awkward to me, almost as if they wandered accidentally into the wine from another glass, a bit lost or confused. I guess it lacks coherence or unity for me, keeping it from being a +MUST TRY+, but by no means a poorly made or distasteful wine. In short, Tres Picos, "It's not you: it's me."

Bodegas Ateca Garnacha de Fuego Old Vines
Spain: Calatayud
Garnacha (red)
2009
$9.99
86 pts
I've had this readily available, budget-priced Spanish red many times, most recently at Dunlay's on Clark, splitting a Wise Guy pizza with Dana last night (the Wise Guy is a delicious appetizer pizza, by the way). Garnacha is the Spanish name for Grenache. Deep dark red in color, the Bodegas Ateca Garnacha de Fuego offers cherries and just a hint of pepper on the nose. The taste profile is simplistic (delivers flavors that line up with the aroma neatly), but not unpleasant: starts with cherries, then delivers a shot of pepper, ending with just a hint of earthiness, maybe even a little manure. Not bad--and food friendly--but I find the overall flavor lacking in intensity. And the length is a weakness: this wine pulls a Houdini not long after the manure drops in...and quickly out. The mouth feel is fine, with a soft (perhaps too soft?), dry finish. Bottom line? For ten bucks or less a bottle, this is a decent Spanish red, a good option when looking to save a little money or keep it simple. But if seeking an above-average, memorable wine that just might blow your socks off...this one will disappoint. I won't keep a bottle on hand, but bet I drink Garnacha de Fuego, again. It's cheap, convenient, and you know exactly what to expect. McDonald's doesn't make the best hamburgers in the world, either, and yet once in a while I have one and enjoy it. That's the story of this wine.

VERDEJO: SPAIN

+MUST TRY+Angel Rodriguez Martinsancho VerdejoEspana: Castilla y Leon (Rueda)
Verdejo (white)
2009
$15.99
90 pts
I really like this wine. Enjoyed a few glasses on a steamy summer evening on the veranda of The Boulevard Inn (St. Joseph, MI) with Dana recently, and I was blown away. It's grassy, herbal, floral and vegetal (green on all counts), with a fresh green melon nose, too. Unbelievably refreshing. And there's also some nice complementary minerality on the finish, with an above-average length. The fruit definitely takes a back seat to the herbs, flowers and green vegetables (melon most prevalent on the bouquet, not in the mouth), so it's possible some might not fall head-over-heels here on first taste. But this is a remarkably complex, tasty and rewarding wine: it feels good, makes you think (about what you're tasting), and cools you down. Now this is the way to get your vegetables. This one's a +MUST TRY+!

+RUN AWAY NOW+Poligono 10 Verdejo (by Bodega Gotica)
Espana: Castilla y Leon (Rueda)
Verdejo (white)
2007
$7.99 on sale
75 pts
Well, it took me a long, long time, but I finally found a verdejo I don't like. Not that I was searching for one. It's just that I was beginning to think, perhaps, that this grape couldn't possibly be used to make wine that tastes bad. I like it that much. But the Bodega Gotica Poligono 10, I couldn't even bring myself to finish the contents of such a beautiful translucent blue bottle. This may sound crazy, but for starters, the color of this wine tastes terrible. Darker than any verdejo I've ever seen--the color of apple juice, or urine after one has consumed way too much beer (so I've heard)--it looked bad in the glass, unappealing, unpleasant, just strange. The bouquet was dominated by flowers, not a bad thing, but once in the mouth, it felt a little heavy for verdejo, then offered sort of a flat floral note, intense minerality, and a very tiny hint of citrus...all in about a second-and-a-half, before it vanished, entirely. The fact that this wine has almost no length is a good thing, since it looks, feels and tastes unpleasant. The various flavors it flashes can be brilliant if each tastes good on its own and they coordinate somehow, form a nice whole, offer balance. But here it's just a mess. The producer's website waxes poetic about this wine, even suggesting that "The yellow-greenish colours praise the sparkles of its luminosity." Nice effort, but I'm afraid that no amount of hyperbole can redeem this one. I say RUN AWAY NOW. Great grape, bad wine.

+MUST TRY+Rueda Naia (by Bodegas Naia - Vina Sila)Espana: Castilla y Leon (Rueda)
Verdejo (white)
2006
$17.99
95 pts
The BEST verdejo I have ever tasted. Cool, crisp and refreshing up front, with just the right amount of sweetness and citrus fruit (along with hints of freshly-mown grass); on the back end, long and so smooth. One of the best wines I've ever had. Tasted it for the first time at La Sala at La Valencia Hotel, on our spring 2009 trip to La Jolla, CA. This is one of my favorite wines. Available at Whole Foods for a few dollars less than above, too.

Castillo de Nava Verdejo (by Castillo de Nava)Espana: Castilla y Leon (Rueda)
Verdejo + Viura (white)
2006
88+ pts
Sold by the glass at Dunlay's for $9.00; a tasty & refreshing Verdejo, with strong citrus (hint of pineapple) and a crisp front end; good, but not as good as the Bodegas Naia Verdejo, which has a very long, smooth, near-perfect finish.

VSolo Verdejo (by VSolo)Espana: Castilla y Leon, Vallodolid (Rueda)
Verdejo 100% (white)
2008
$9.99
87 pts
Not a bad little wine for $10.00 (was on sale, regularly priced at 11.00 at Whole Foods)...but not a top-shelf Verdejo, either. The color of this wine is clear, almost like water, and the nose is quite nice, full of pineapple, especially. A first tasting reveals a lot of pineapple, as well, and it's not overly sweet (a plus for me). After breathing a while, the VSolo Verdejo does provide a bit more complexity, with a mineral element in addition to the pinapple that is not unpleasant. But this is a simple straightforward wine possessing a clear pineapple focus, with very little finish at all. It just seems to disappear during the midpalette, never to return. A little more complexity in flavor and any finish at all to speak of, and this could have been a MUST TRY. Still might be a good buy for those who love pineapple, and the price is right (marketed by the food chain as a Top 10 Summer Wine). Also, as a 2008 vintage, this is obviously a young wine. Might mature a bit with time. Will probably pick up another bottle and set it aside for a year or two, and see what happens. The name VSolo refers to the fact that this wine is made from the Verdejo varietal only.

Paso A Paso Verdejo (by Paso A Paso)Espana: La Mancha
Verdejo (white)
2007
$10.99
85 pts
This is an okay Verdejo, but not great, and even though the $11.00 price tag is quite reasonable, the Rueda Naia (at $17.99) and even the Castillo de Nava are so much better, that I can't justify buying this one again. Has a tight nose that doesn't open up much even after airing, and while the pear flavor is nice at first, there is a somewhat overpowering bitterness that follows, and lingers on the finish. Nice acid, though. In terms of color, this wine is so light, so clear, it almost resembles water (although in fairness it doesn't taste as light as it looks, and has some degree of substance to it). Overall, I find this to be an average grade verdejo...and isn't life just too short to settle for average when the price difference is so close?

+MUST TRY+Monte Palma Verdejo (by Monte Palma Winery)
Verdejo 100% (white)
Espana: Rueda (Segovia)
2008
$11.99
89 pts
Lincoln Park Market began carrying this Verdejo, recently, and we picked up a bottle there to share with family on Father's Day...and I'm really glad we did. At $12.00, this is a tremendous find. This wine has a beautiful straw color with hints of green. The bouquet is exceptional, with a delightful citrus aroma that seems to jump from the glass upon the slightest twirl. The taste begins with grapefruit, and finishes with pear, offering a complexity not common to wines in this price range. This wine is made to be consumed upon production, but setting aside a bottle or two for a year may be interesting. Even now, this is a nice affordable verdejo, a great summer wine for sipping on the deck, at the pool, or with appetizers or white grilled meats (I'd even say regular pizza, too). Not as remarkable as the Naia (rated above), one of the best wines I've ever tasted. But for $12.00, as an everyday wine that goes great with a lot of different foods, or alone--if Spanish whites were a baseball team, I'd want the Monte Palma Verdejo to be my shortstop.

ROSE' WINES: EUROPE

Bodegas Borsao Rosado
Spain: Aragon: Campo de Borja
100% Garnacha (rosé)
2009
88+ pts
$8.99
This is my Wine of the Summer, 2011! My criteria? Refreshing, easy-drinking, decent acidity (for pairing with all kinds of snacks and appetizers), light but not too light, no heat (that is, no over-the-top alcohol in the mouth), and, finally, a discount price that enables one to keep plenty on hand to enjoy and share right through September. While the Monte Palma Verdejo played this role for me in 2010--and I'm still crazy for Austrian Grüner Veltliner, too--the notion of enjoying some red fruit through June, July and August appeals to me. Dana and I tried the Borsao Rosado at Cafe-Ba-Ba-Reeba this afternoon, and I knew after one sip I was set for the summer sun. This is by no means a complex, multifaceted wine destined to rack up big awards for its unique approach or flawless execution. But it does meet my criteria for Wine of the Summer. The nose offers watermelon candy with hints of fresh orange zest (Dana nailed the oranges!). Research indicates there are strawberries on the nose, too, but neither of us picked them up. The taste profile includes lots of fresh melon (watermelon, yes, but other summer melons, too), along with with some floral notes (violets?) and minerality on the finish. And the length is very good. Borsao continues to impress me as a solid, affordable Spanish producer, and with this medium-bodied tasty wine available for nine bucks a bottle at Binny's, I'm ready for summer in Chicago: a MUST TRY!

WHITE BLENDS: SPAIN

Protocolo Blanco (by Dominio de Eguren)
Espana: Castilla-la Mancha
70% Airen, 30% Macabeo (blend)
2009
$6.95
84
For a discount wine ringing in at about seven bucks a bottle, the Protocolo Spanish white--while no great shakes--is a serviceable wine, offering nice weight, a smooth mouth feel, and a soundbite preview of what more legit white wines from Espana have to offer: a nice balance between fruit and floral flavors and a much-appreciated contrast with the usual tasteless Pinot Grigio, oaked-to-death Chard or one-dimensional Sauvignon Blanc that dominate this price point. The fruit is citrus with some hints of pear, while the not unpleasant floral bitterness that follows clearly distinguishes this wine from its more popular Kool-Aid shelf-mates. The length? Not much staying power here. I give the Protocolo white 84 points. It's not a wine to seek out, but on a last place team--the Pittsburgh Pirates, for instance--the Protocolo could be an All-Star, maybe getting an inning in the field late in the game. And when you're paying league minimum, what more can you ask?

CAVA: SPAIN

Codorníu Original
Espana: Catalunya (Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, Penedés) - about 40 km south of Barcelona
A Blend: 40% Macabeo, 30 % Parellada, 20 % Xarel·lo, 10 % Reserve wine (sparkling white)
Non-Vintage
$8.99
87 pts
Had the Codorníu Original cava for the first time on Christmas day 2010, in Sarasota, Florida. Purchased three 187 ml bottles at Publix to enjoy with various deserts (i.e., cannoli and cheese cake) and this pairing worked very nicely, with the floral and mineral aspects of the wine complementing rich pastries. The color on this light Spanish sparkler is a soft pale yellow. The nose is stingy, offering floral notes. But the taste is pleasant: while a bit bland, lacking a distinct character, it's also very easy-drinking. Pear dominates in terms of fruit, but there's some apple present, too. The back end features good floral flavors, with minerality close behind. As for length, there's not much to write home about. While this cava won't blow you away, it's a wonderful option (at a great price) for serving with desert: it certainly won't overpower the flavors of the pastries, especially cheese-based pastries, and, in fact, it enhances the flavors. The sparkle is minimal on this wine, but it's just enough to give one that sense of a special occasion (and playfulness) that makes sparkling wine unique. And like all cavas, the alcohol content, at 11.5%, is lower than most wines, making it ideal for serving later in the evening.

Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Cava
Espana: Catalunya (Penedés)
A Blend: 50% Macabeo, 35% Parellada, 15% Xarel-lo (sparkling white)
Non-Vintage
$8.99
88+ pts
Went to see our cousin Phil Angotti, quite a talented singer-songwriter-player, play at The Elbo Room in Chicago recently, and while this fun old-school music bar has a typically banal wine list--the usual Pinot Grigios, Merlots and friends, along with a very strong beer line-up--they had a cava on the list, so throwing image to the dogs, I stood there in a rock 'n roll bar on a Saturday night with Dana and Max and Leslie and sipped my crisp Spanish cava from a flute, while all around me consumed appropriately masculine beverages in dark, thick glass bottles. But I was glad I did. The Sugura Viudas Brut Reserva cava is a very nice, pleasing sparkler (not as enjoyable to me as my favorite Italian proseccos, mind you, but a good wine, nonetheless). I got tobacco on the nose--really strange, I think, for a white wine--but that's what I got. Also, the smell of flowers, which was nice. As for taste, for such an inexpensive wine, there's some good complexity here, probably requiring more than one glass for me to sort out. I definitely tasted a smokiness, the flowers I picked up on the nose, good minerality, and a little fruit, too (apple, I think). That's an awful lot going on for a discount-priced sparkler from Spain...and it all works well together, coherent, with a decent length. The only thing that keeps me from giving this wine a MUST TRY rating of 89 or higher is that, for my palette, I prefer a bit more of the minerality and little less of the herbs and flowers, so for me, it's about the nature of the balance. But in a way, that's nit-picking: this is a great wine at a really good price, and I think a lot of people will enjoy it as much as I did, if not more.

ALBARINO: SPAIN

Albarino Do Ferreiro (by Do Ferreiro)
Espana: Galicia (Rias Baixas)
Albarino (white)
2007
$24.99
88+ pts
This is a very fine and complex wine, by no means your run-of-the-mill Albarino (and I suppose the price reflects this reality). I get tobacco and freshly-cut green grass on the nose, along with floral hints. The yellow straw coloring is darker than other Albarinos I've had. As for taste, this is a pleasingly weighty wine in your mouth. The taste profile is where most of the complexity comes in: there's a subtle citrus flavor on the front end (plus some pear?), but, ultimately, the floral taste takes over mid-palette, with an exceptionally solid finish dominated by a minerality. Leaves your mouth feeling dry, almost salty. This is a wine I respect--it tells an honest story from Galicia, the rugged land from which these grapes came--but for my palette, at least right now (spring 2010), while I find this wine enjoyable, the complexity it possesses (fruit, floral, and strong mineral tastes) isn't ideal for me. I still find the Nora Albarino (rated below)--simple, crisp, refreshing, and with a bit more fruit--more desirable, and at almost ten bucks cheaper than the Do Ferreiro, the better buy. That being said, I think anyone who enjoys Albarino ought to try this wine, at least once.

Albarino (by Bodegas Martin Codax)
Espana: Galicia (Rias Baixas)
Albarino (white)
2006
$13.99
86 pts
A decent albarino by a good producer (like the Martin Codax tempranillo) but the Nora is a much better wine for just about $2.00 more per bottle. Nice pear flavor, but a little strong up front with the fruit for my taste.

+MUST TRY+
Nora Albarino (by Vina Nora)
Espana: Galicia (Rias Baixas)
Albarino (white)
2007
$15.99
91+ pts
Wow! Never had this grape before, but ordered a glass one day at The Park Grill (Millennium Park) after an Art Institute tour, and it was tremendous: delicate fruit (especially pineapple), soft in the mouth, nice long finish; a fresh wine, perfect for summer. Wine Spectator gave it the same 91 pts I did, I learned later. Available at Treasure Island in Chicago and other retail outlets.