Lobstah. It’s what’s for dinnah.

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the winery for review.

I’m on a bit of an Albariño kick these days.  We traveled North for Christmas this year to see my parents for the holidays in CT. In CT, lobster is $4.99 a pound. In VA, it’s $8.99 a pound if you can find it. And, you can almost never (read: it’s happened ONCE in the decade I’ve lived here) find steamers.  We enjoyed this lobster and some steamers with the 2011 Bonny Doon Albariño. The wine clocks in at 13.2% alcohol by volume, has a screw cap closure, and retails for around $15.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) I could drink this all day, every day with steamers. Add in the lobster and I’m in heaven.

2.) The Bonny Doon Albariño is a super value at sub-$20. It easily makes my list of best white wines I tasted in 2012.

3.) I sort of feel bad for lobsters, but they can rest easy knowing they were paired with such an excellent match.

4.) It appears the 2011 is nearly sold out (or sold out) but be sure to keep an eye out for the 2012.

On the nose I found honeysuckle, tangerine, candied pineapple, lemon, lemongrass, and orange.  The nose smelled tart and promised good things to come to help cut through the butter and rich lobster flavors.  In the mouth I got lemon, lime, tangerine, orange blossom notes, more lime, and pineapple. The promise of the nose held true with excellent acidity and tart fruit flavors.

 

 

Filed under: Albarino, California, White, Wine | 4 Comments »

Switching Gears

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample for review.

Jumping around a bit as we kick of this new year.  From CA to Spain and red to white.  Variety keeps the wine palate alive and kicking and for me, it’s what makes wine endlessly interesting, unique, and fun to drink. Tonight we tried out the 2010 Benito Santos Albariño.  The Albariño has a real cork closure, clocks in at 13% alcohol by volume, and retails for around $16.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.)  Nice and racy on the palate, just like I enjoy in an Albariño.

2.) That said, as it warmed up, the fruit softened and became rounder.

3.) If you keep it nice and chill, this seems like a great wine for the dog days of summer. (Just around the corner, right?)

4.) I’d pair with a light white fish dish this summer.

On the nose I got tangerine, orange, spice, white peach, and white pepper. The aroma was quite nice.  In the mouth I found lime, tangerine, citrus fruit, white pepper, and white peach as it warmed.  Overall, when chilled the fruit was crisp, acidic, and tart. As it warmed, the fruit turned softer and rounder.

 

 

 

Filed under: Albarino, Spain, White, Wine | Comments Off

Pretending it’s Spring

Posted on February 11, 2010 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Gallo Family Wines.

Despite nearly all evidence to the contrary at the moment, spring is coming. Yes, I realize we currently have about 40 inches of snow on the ground, but it will melt. Eventually. And before it all fell I saw my Irises and Daffodils coming up! Poor flowers. I’m ignoring all the snow in my yard and drinking white wines. It helps to get me in a spring frame of mind. Or perhaps I’m just delusional, it could really go either way. We popped open the 2007 Martin Codax Albariño the other night. The wine had a plastic cork, clocked in at 13% alcohol by volume, and I see it available online for as low as $10.

On the nose I found sweet peach, apricot, pear, honey, apple, lemon, and other citrus. I also got an overall “tropical” sense from the wine.  In the mouth I found the citrus to be more pronounced along with the apple. Pear, peach, and a little spice rounded out the palate. I thought the wine was crisp and refreshing, but definitely one to be served very chilly.

Filed under: Albarino, Spain, White, Wine | Comments Off

Albariño Albariño Albariño

Posted on November 29, 2009 by Sonadora

Say that 10 times fast! Here’s another grape I don’t drink much of unless I seek it out. And I should. I really like Albariños and find it makes a good mate for the light seafood dishes I enjoy so much in the warmer months. However, I always find myself gravitating towards Sauvignon Blanc. Anyway, I pulled out the 2007 Licia Albariño from the box my dad and I got at the Madison Wine Exchange. It had a real cork, clocked in at 12.5% alcohol by volume and I believe it ran us about $15.

On the nose I got flowers, peach, nectarine, honey, pear, and citrus notes. In the mouth I found lemon, white peach, pear, orange, more citrus, and stone fruits. The wine had nice acidity and I found it to be crisp. W drank this on its own, but as I said, it would be nice with some grilled white fish in the summer.

 

Filed under: Albarino, Spain, White, Wine | 3 Comments »

Albariño is Excellent!

Posted on December 29, 2008 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from WineQ because I am Beta Club member.

It’s been quite a while since I had an Albariño and that’s a shame, since it’s a great grape, and is wonderful as a substitute for situations in which I would normally choose a Sauvignon Blanc. WineQ helped get me back on the Albariño train, and I’m going to start trying to seek them out again. I chose the 2007 Bokisch Albariño Clement Hills Vineyard to go with our omelets! It clocked in at 14.1% alcohol by volume, hails from Lodi, and you can purchase it for $15.99 from WineQ. (I’m finding the Bokisch wines to be absolutely excellent values so far!)

On the nose I found pineapple, cream, tropical fruit, apple, and pear. I was surprised by how aromatic this wine was, the fruit just jumped out of the glass. In the mouth, I got apple, tropical fruit, apricot, and peach. I found the wine to be crisp, dry, and refreshing. It actually worked really well with our omelets, a surprise to me!

Filed under: Albarino, California, White, Wine, WineQ | Comments Off

On a White Wine Kick

Posted on January 10, 2008 by Sonadora

No particular reason, but I’m not feeling the cold weather reds right now. Could be the warm weather, but really, that just started this week. I just haven’t been a heavy red wine mood. I need to shake that as the reds are piling up alarmingly fast in my basement!

The bottle of the night was a Valminor 2006 Rias Bhixas Albarino. I picked it up at the Winery in Old Town Alexandria as part of a mixed case. It cost me $12.99 minus a 10% case discount, clocked in at 12.5% alcohol by volume, and had a screw cap.

The nose of the wine was perfumy, very aromatic. It showed tropical fruit, citrus, grapefruit, orange blossoms, and was quite floral. In the mouth I found grapefruit, citrus, and a nice sweet orange note. The wine was crisp in the mouth, but not too tart. Overall I found the wine to be intriguing and a great value for the price.

Filed under: Albarino, Spain, The Winery, White | 3 Comments »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 6,598 other followers