Ed's wine blog

2015  Viña Zaco  Albariño  Rias Baixas  Spain

I first tried a wine made from the Albariño grape about 15 years ago, I was reading an article in the Wine Enthusiast that highlighted wines from Spain, and the author described this grape as having a floral nose similar to a Riesling, with the flavor and crispness of a Sauvignon blanc.

I knew that I liked Riesling wines, whether off dry or sweet, and the Sauvignon blanc wines from New Zealand in a good vintage can be special. So I went looking for what I could find, and came home with 2 bottles. One was from Burgans, the other was from Martin Codax. One wine had a nice full mouthfeel, and was slightly off dry. The other was dryer, more crisp but still pleasant, and both had beautiful aromatics and flavors.

The Rias Baixas region is in the North west corner of Spain, on the Atlantic ocean. It seems to grow best here, and is a perfect match with the locally caught seafood. The grape has grown in popularity to the point that there is a risk of over production and losing the uniqueness that makes it special. Some producers have made it sweeter to apeal to some consumers. So do some homework and choose carefully.

This opens with apricot, peach, and citrus (white grapefruit) in the nose, the palate tastes first of the grapefruit, and the apricot/peach flavor follows. To me there's a hint of honeydew melon on the finish as well.... after 30 minutes the wine develops more of the stone fruits in the nose, along with a slight apple pie/cinnamon spice note. The palate echoes the nose and finishes with pleasant fruit/spice flavors. The acidity is not too sharp, but has a nice palate cleansing effect.
I would decant this wine and put it in the fridge for 30 to 40 minutes before serving....

Pan fried scallops come to mind as a pairing, grilled scallops wrapped in bacon, grilled shrimp marinated in a Tequila lime & garlic marinade would be fantastic with this wine. Swordfish finished with fresh squeezed lemon.... you get the picture. We tried it with a classic Ceasar salad (very good) and with a 3 year old NY state extra sharp Cheddar (also very good)

Available in the powerbuy section of the NH Liquor outlets for $7.99 per bottle, there is also 15% case discount on 12 or more powerbuy wines thru the end of the month, which makes this just $6.80 per bottle. So a case of this would only cost $82, In addition, if you spend $150.00 you also get a $25 gift card... this is a great time to stock up on wines for the upcoming patio/deck season.

I'll review a Chilean Cabernet that's also in the powerbuy section for $9.99 in a couple of days.

Cheers!

Ed