BIN ENDS WINE-TASTING GROUP
New Wave Spanish White Wines
Tuesday, 17th August 2010
At St. Augustine’s Church Hall

Think of Spanish table wine, and the immediate association is red and, specifically, Rioja. Surprisingly, though white wine has been produced in Spain over a very long time, up to the last 15 years, little has been memorable.

Nevertheless, great strides have been made, both in the vineyard and in the winery, and this has led to an innovative range of modern style whites, often produced with indigenous and unique varieties. It could be termed a “quiet revolution”, and courtesy of the Wine Society, we determined to sample some of the latest releases.

All wines (except for the last) were sourced from the Wine Society and the tasting explored the wine-producing regions of Catalonia, Rueda, Galicia and, of course, Rioja.

FLIGHT 1 – CATALONIA
The Catalans tend to make wines in a greater variety of styles than any other Spanish region. The climate is heavily influenced by the Mediterranean and, although best known for sparkling Cava, still whites have been gaining ground.

1. Marques de Alella (£7.95)
This is produced by Panxet, located to the north-east of Barcelona, from the Pansa Blanca grape, also known as Xarelo. It’s a small region hemmed in by suburbs and the sea. Reminiscent of a Vinho Verde, this was pale with a spritz. Very fresh and flowery, ideal for a summer’s day. Pleasing length with a dry finish and a nice bite of acidity. (CHP 16+, Bin Ends 6 votes)

2. Verd Albera 2009 Emporda (£7.75)
This is close to the French border, not far from the Dali town of Figueres. Again, the climate is Mediterranean, tempered by the cold Tramontane wind. The wine is principally Grenache (Garnacha) Blanc, with a little Muscat to give lift and perfume. Medium bodied, with some citrus grapefruit and spice. Nice mouthfeel with agreeable length, but not a great deal of personality.
(CHP 16, Bin Ends 4 votes)

3. Auzells 2009 Costers del Segre (£9.95)
Costers del Segre is an arid region, developed in the main by Raimat (who own over 2200 hectares of vine). The Auzells, though, is made by Tomas Cusine, who produced this oak-aged blend from 8 different varieties.

Very restrained use of oak with gentle vanilla notes, mutating to grapefruit flavours. The acidity is softened with butter and spice, and all in all a very elegant food wine with a super length of finish (CHP 16+, Bin Ends 6 votes).

FLIGHT 2: RUEDA

In Rueda, Verdejo vies with Albarino as Spain’s leading white grape for fresh and mouth-watering whites. That has not always been the case, as the grape historically was used to make a fortified wine akin to sherry, because it is prone to oxidation. Modern stainless-steel fermentation has lifted the grape from obscurity, and it’s now regarded as a serious rival to Sauvignon Blanc.

4. Tresalmos Verdejo 2009 Rueda (£7.95)
Quite vegetal with notes of elderflower and nettles. Crisp, medium-bodied and spicy, but developing a harsh bitter note. Methinks this was a poor bottle, although I couldn’t detect any cork-taint. (CHP 15 Bin Ends 0 votes)

FLIGHT 3 – Galicia

5. Txomin Etxaniz Getaria Txakolina 2009 (£12.50)
Fresh, appley wine from Basque country. Fermented in stainless steel from the Ondarrabi Zuri grape, and kept on its lees until bottling in the Spring. Crisp, minerally, with green apple. Delicate, light and lovely structure. Amazingly fresh. Would have scored higher, but for the price.
(CHP 16+ Bin Ends 4 votes)

6. Brandal Albarino 2009 Rias Baixas (£8.95)
The Rias Baixas DO has now rightly become famous for its exquisite Albarino. To the far northwest of Spain, the climate is very much linked to the Atlantic, and the whites are a perfect match for the local seafood. Personally, I think Albarino is Spain’s finest white grape, somewhat akin to Riesling, with it’s lime-zest characters, but made in a fully-dry style.

This example reeked of nail-varnish and, on the palate, there were flavours of pear-drops, with a hint of lime and peach. The finish was short and the wine had a serious volatile acidity problem. Not too long before it cracks up. One of the worst made wines I’ve had from the Wine Society, yet the previous 2008 vintage was warmly received by the group just several months ago, and exhibited no faults whatsoever. (CHP 12, Bin ends 2 votes)

7. Coto de Gomariz 2008 Ribeiro (£10.95)
More inland than Rias Baixas, modern winemaking has transformed such local varieties as Treixadura, Godello and Albarino. This example is unoaked. Quite sulphury, with a strong smell of burnt matches. Zesty with citrus notes, oil and smoke. Too sulphurous and bitter.
(CHP 14,Bin Ends 2 votes)

8. Louro Godello 2009 Valdeorras (£13.50)
Valdeorras is yet another born again wine region, here using the resurrected Godello grape. This was very much in the style of a white Burgundy, but over-dominated by the use of new oak. On the nose, there was toasty vanilla, perhaps a little citrus and on the palate, there were hazelnuts and perhaps a touch of green plums.

Full-bodied and rich, but fruit dominated by oak. (CHP 15, Bin Ends 0 votes)

FLIGHT 4 – Rioja
Rioja is almost a byword for oak-aged Tempranillo, but also produces white wine too, principally from Viura (Maccabeu), usually with a small percentage of Malvasia. It’s almost a by-product of the Riojan quest for oak, as the whites are made for seasoning the casks. Viura is not highly regarded, and laws have recently been introduced to permit Chardonnay and other hitherto forbidden international white varieties. Watch this space ....

9. Muga Blanco 2009 Rioja (£8.50)
Fresh, spicy pear fruit, with toast and butter, overlying a lovely backbone of acidity. The oak is well controlled and integrated, and this was rather a nice wine at a very affordable price.
(CHP 17, Bin Ends 11)

10. Sierra Cantabria Organza 2004 Rioja (CHP stock)
A mature example opened for a bit of fun. More oxidation, with notes of honey and marmalade, with fruit flavours of citrus and apple, softened with cream. There was a light oaky touch, well-integrated and spicy, developing into a long finish. A fine wine, but perhaps a little too old.
(CHP 16+ Bin Ends 4).

SUMMARY

While there were not too many bad wines, I came away from the tasting feeling a little flat. The Riojas showed well, and the lighter Vinho Verde styles performed too, but for me the two biggest disappointments were an uninspiring Verdejo and a faulty Albarino.

I had expected to see a number of comparisons with our recent Italian Whites tasting, but this really didn’t happen. In that tasting there were several wines with a real “wow” factor, and in this there were none. On this showing, I’ll be sticking to the reds!

UPCOMING DATES FOR YOUR DIARY ...

Tuesday, 28th September 2010
Chablis expert and author, Austen Biss, will be
presenting a selection of nine wines from basic Chablis to Grand Cru.
Copies of his book “Wines of Chablis” will be available at £12.00 per copy (normal price £17).
Entry fee: £15.00 per head

Tuesday , 26th October 2010
Katie Jones, former Export Manager of the
famous Mont-Tauch co-operative in Fitou, Katie has turned from poacher to game-keeper, as
she is now producing wine made from her very own estate in the Corbieres. She will be bringing along a selection of wines for us to try (£15.00 per head entry)
...

Tuesday, 30th November 2010
“Assessing Quality”
A blind tasting on various wine styles,
Presented by Clive (£15 per head entry)

Tuesday, 21st December 2010 (a week earlier than usual)
“Wine with Chocolate”
We will be sampling a number of different wine styles that,
purportedly, go with chocolate! (£15 per head entry)

Saturday, 29th January 2011
Bin Ends Annual Dinner
Watch this space!