Showing posts with label Spanish white wine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spanish white wine. Show all posts
Friday, April 8, 2011
2009 Analivia Rueda Verdejo
Hello everyone!! We had this wine earlier tonight with a seafood and veggie dish. I was not wild about this wine at first, but it improved quite a bit as it opened in the glass. At first it had an unpleasant bitterness and seemed a bit disjointed, but as it opened the flavors mellowed and the bitterness took on the taste of zesty lemon peel. It had a bright golden color. On the nose there was lemon and some tropical fruit mixed with a crisp minerality. On the palate there was fresh lemon, lemon peel, a herbal character (rosemary?) and a seashell-like minerality. It was of medium body with a nice full mouth feel. It had a tingling acidic finish that contained the fresh citric and mineral flavors. I paid $13 dollars for this wine at Total Wines in Atlanta.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
2007 Val de Sil Godello Sobre Lias Valdeorras
Hello! We've been drinking a lot of old favorites (and some box wine), so not much to blog about. Last night we had a VERY nice white from our trip to Atlanta. It came from Murphy's in the Virginia Highlands area. It was about $18-$20. We had it with a chicken fajita salads. It was good with the salad, but we continued to sip it all evening. It was one of those wines that continued to improve as it opened. It had a nice pale yellow color. It had a very nice bouquet of lichee, pineapple, orange zest, nutmeg and mineral. The aromas carried through on the palate with a nice bright acidity (but not too much) and lime flavor. On the finishthere was limestone, nutmeg and finally almond. The finish was long and lingering. It had a pleasant silky mouth-feel. It was reminiscent of a torrontes, but more complex and full bodied. I'd love to find more of this.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Winers get together, Spanish wines
Hello everyone!!
Al and I had a wonderful time with our Winer friends! I hope everyone was comfortable at our little place. We just loved having ya'll over!! I promised everyone a rundown on the wines so here goes:
Moscato Dasti 2009 Villa Lanata (Italy): This was our greeter. It had a 5.5% alcohol content, so nice and refreshing but with very little alcohol. It was sweet, but nicely balanced with a creamy mouth-feel and soft acidity. The flavors were very peach, a little citrus and lots of vanilla wafer. Yummy.
Next was the Burgans Albarino 2009. This wine was very nicely balanced with melon, citrus and a full body I usually get with a white bordeaux. It paired extremely well with the goat cheese torte. The caramelized onions and bits of smokey bacon really complemented the wine. And the rich mouth-feel of the wine went well with the creaminess of the cheese.
Next was the 2008 El Coto Rioja. This was a bright crisp wine with nice acidity and lemon/citric flavors. It had a weight similar to a Savingnon Blanc, but the taste profile was less herbal (and none of that overdone grapefruit thing you sometimes find in Savingnon Blancs). It was refreshing and nicely balanced and was very tasty with the salad. The salad was greens with shrimp and a mixture of eggs, lemon and olive. The citric notes of the wine paired perfectly with the lemon of the salad.
Next was another Albarino, the 2008 Martin Codax. This was similar to the other albarino, but lighter, crisper and with a little spiciness that I didn't detect in the Burgans. It was interesting in that they were similar but different, and both were nicely balanced and very good. It was a good match with the pealla, which was a complex bland of flavors. Albarino is a traditional pairing for paella, which wants a white wine of some substance (like an albarino) to stand up to the mix of meats, seafoods and spices.
Next was the Allende 2004 Rioja (estate bottled). It was a very smooth wine that showed its age in a good way. It had aromas of licorice and dark fruit and a few people noted coconut. It had bright acids and firm tannins with a lingering finish. Overall, it was balanced and complex, a very nice wine. It paired very nicely with the sausage and pepper dish.
Next was a group of two wines and two kabobs with polenta. The wines were both Riojas. One was Ibericos 2006 tempranillo. This wine had firm tannins and dark fruit with a spicy finish. It was very good with the spicey pork kabobs in particular. The other Rioja was a Vina Zaco 2006 tempranillo. This wine was very pleasant. It was more fruit forward with bright cherry flavors and soft tannins. It paired especially well with the beef kabobs. The polenta certainly bears mentioning. It was very tasty and flavored with cheese and rosemary.
Hope everyone had a good time!!
Al and I had a wonderful time with our Winer friends! I hope everyone was comfortable at our little place. We just loved having ya'll over!! I promised everyone a rundown on the wines so here goes:
Moscato Dasti 2009 Villa Lanata (Italy): This was our greeter. It had a 5.5% alcohol content, so nice and refreshing but with very little alcohol. It was sweet, but nicely balanced with a creamy mouth-feel and soft acidity. The flavors were very peach, a little citrus and lots of vanilla wafer. Yummy.
Next was the Burgans Albarino 2009. This wine was very nicely balanced with melon, citrus and a full body I usually get with a white bordeaux. It paired extremely well with the goat cheese torte. The caramelized onions and bits of smokey bacon really complemented the wine. And the rich mouth-feel of the wine went well with the creaminess of the cheese.
Next was the 2008 El Coto Rioja. This was a bright crisp wine with nice acidity and lemon/citric flavors. It had a weight similar to a Savingnon Blanc, but the taste profile was less herbal (and none of that overdone grapefruit thing you sometimes find in Savingnon Blancs). It was refreshing and nicely balanced and was very tasty with the salad. The salad was greens with shrimp and a mixture of eggs, lemon and olive. The citric notes of the wine paired perfectly with the lemon of the salad.
Next was another Albarino, the 2008 Martin Codax. This was similar to the other albarino, but lighter, crisper and with a little spiciness that I didn't detect in the Burgans. It was interesting in that they were similar but different, and both were nicely balanced and very good. It was a good match with the pealla, which was a complex bland of flavors. Albarino is a traditional pairing for paella, which wants a white wine of some substance (like an albarino) to stand up to the mix of meats, seafoods and spices.
Next was the Allende 2004 Rioja (estate bottled). It was a very smooth wine that showed its age in a good way. It had aromas of licorice and dark fruit and a few people noted coconut. It had bright acids and firm tannins with a lingering finish. Overall, it was balanced and complex, a very nice wine. It paired very nicely with the sausage and pepper dish.
Next was a group of two wines and two kabobs with polenta. The wines were both Riojas. One was Ibericos 2006 tempranillo. This wine had firm tannins and dark fruit with a spicy finish. It was very good with the spicey pork kabobs in particular. The other Rioja was a Vina Zaco 2006 tempranillo. This wine was very pleasant. It was more fruit forward with bright cherry flavors and soft tannins. It paired especially well with the beef kabobs. The polenta certainly bears mentioning. It was very tasty and flavored with cheese and rosemary.
Hope everyone had a good time!!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Dinner guests: 2008 Martin Codax Albarino, 2007 Sebastiani Pinot Noir, 2006 El Coto Rioja, 2005 Las Rocas Garnacha
Hello!! Well, we have been drinking wines this past week, but nothing new until this weekend. We had another couple over Saturday evening. For starters I fixed little crostini with green beans, zucchini, salsa verte, and feta cheese. We had the Albarino with this. It was very quite good. Subtle aromas of jasmine and white flowers. I picked up well integrated flavors of peach, mild citrus and hazelnut. It was very well balanced and had a nice rich body. It was my first Albarino and now I know what all the fuss is about. I'll be keeping one in my winerack. This particular wine was $16 at Ashes. They have one on sale now for $10 or $11 which was rated 90 or 91 by the Wine Spectator.
Next came Italian mushroom stuffed crepes and salad. Our guests brought the Sebastiani pinot noir, and we opened it with dinner. It was a pleasant, soft well balanced pinot, somewhat lacking in complexity, but it was a nice wine with dinner and took a bit of a back seat to the food. It had soft tannins and acids and pleasant, easy to drink fruit flavors of strawberry, cherry, and plum.
The other two wines were after dinner sippers. The Las Rocas is one we have had before, $19 at Ashes. This is one of my current favorites. It's a fairly big wine with a big, aromatic nose which rises right out of the glass to greet you. The aromas are dark cherry and a soft spiciness. On the palate it's dark cherry, blackberry, and cedar with a little bit of pepper. It's fairly smooth and full bodied with firm tannins and a nice balance of acid. It had a pleasant lingering finish. Lastly, we opened the El Coto. To me, this was a bit of a disappointment, but Al liked it better than I did. It had a big, in your face nose, with bright cherry and oak. The taste was pretty much the same. It seemed simple and very "new world" after having had the Las Rocas. It wasn't bad, but was a bit of a fruit bomb and the oak monster was definitely with us on this one. Personally, I think you can find better Spanish wines. To each his own.
Next came Italian mushroom stuffed crepes and salad. Our guests brought the Sebastiani pinot noir, and we opened it with dinner. It was a pleasant, soft well balanced pinot, somewhat lacking in complexity, but it was a nice wine with dinner and took a bit of a back seat to the food. It had soft tannins and acids and pleasant, easy to drink fruit flavors of strawberry, cherry, and plum.
The other two wines were after dinner sippers. The Las Rocas is one we have had before, $19 at Ashes. This is one of my current favorites. It's a fairly big wine with a big, aromatic nose which rises right out of the glass to greet you. The aromas are dark cherry and a soft spiciness. On the palate it's dark cherry, blackberry, and cedar with a little bit of pepper. It's fairly smooth and full bodied with firm tannins and a nice balance of acid. It had a pleasant lingering finish. Lastly, we opened the El Coto. To me, this was a bit of a disappointment, but Al liked it better than I did. It had a big, in your face nose, with bright cherry and oak. The taste was pretty much the same. It seemed simple and very "new world" after having had the Las Rocas. It wasn't bad, but was a bit of a fruit bomb and the oak monster was definitely with us on this one. Personally, I think you can find better Spanish wines. To each his own.
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