| Albarino Tasting Report |
Our latest staff tasting, featuring Albarino wines was a
complete disaster from start to finish. We had six wines
total, four Spanish Albarino's from Rias Biaxas and two
Vinho Verde's from Portugal. Of the six wines, two were
absolutely undrinkable and one in my opinion was on the
fast track to vinegar in its own right. To add insult to
injury, we even had two of the same kind of wines as
Dandridge and I both bought our wine at Sigel's (we only
counted them both as one wine) and they both still sucked!
What happened to cause this misfortune? Well I have to
place the blame squarely on our shoulders, especially my
own.
In all my research of Albarino wines this month, I kept
reading over and over, these wines DO NOT AGE WELL,
DRINK YOUNG!!! So what did I do? I went out and
bought a wine from the 2003 vintage, a full three years
old! Apparently two others in our tasting missed that bit of
information as well. There were three wines from the 2003
vintage in our tasting (only two different ones). They were
all by far the worse wines in the tasting. In fact, I don't
even think they were even on the radar screen of being
drinkable. Can I say that these wines were all bad wines
that you should not buy? No, not really, because I'm sure
had we tasted them all two years ago they would have
been just lovely! Now will never know. One of the Vinho
Verde wines, despite it being a spring chicken from the
2006 vintage, seemed to be flat and turning towards the
expiration date at a rapid pace as well.
Given these facts, it is no small wonder that the top three
wines in the tasting were the youngest three wines and it
showed. They were all really clean and fresh. Our
number one wine really ran away with top honors with its
closest competition being one of the Vinho Verde wines.
The third place wine was still barely hanging on the edge
of shelf life and showing many mature overtones, but
compared to the rest, doing a far site better!
So what did we learn from this tasting? Well first off, pay
attention to the vintage date when you are buying Albarino
wines. Don't ever stray further than two years ago. Two,
these wines when young and fresh make an ideal wine with
seafood, light salads & other light acidic dishes. Three,
six or seven Albarino wines in a row is just too many for
one sitting! Four, although I feel it is our moral obligation
and duty to the readers of this website to seek out and try
new and unusual grape varietals, most of our staff hates
white wines and would really rather be drinking red wines,
even if the temperature outside is over 100 degrees F. So
armed with all of that new data, we have decided to revisit
some old favorites in the upcoming months, but with a new
twist. For example, we will be tasting Syrah wines from
California and perhaps Zinfandel wines from a specific
region in California, etc...
I really should not even rate or put any tasting notes for
the last two wines in our tasting. It is really not fair to
describe them as rotten, especially since we never got the
opportunity to drink them in their prime. I am sure they
were great wines in their youth and based on reviews that
I have read about them on the web, they seem to have
really impressed many other wine critics. But...What fun
would that be?!?
complete disaster from start to finish. We had six wines
total, four Spanish Albarino's from Rias Biaxas and two
Vinho Verde's from Portugal. Of the six wines, two were
absolutely undrinkable and one in my opinion was on the
fast track to vinegar in its own right. To add insult to
injury, we even had two of the same kind of wines as
Dandridge and I both bought our wine at Sigel's (we only
counted them both as one wine) and they both still sucked!
What happened to cause this misfortune? Well I have to
place the blame squarely on our shoulders, especially my
own.
In all my research of Albarino wines this month, I kept
reading over and over, these wines DO NOT AGE WELL,
DRINK YOUNG!!! So what did I do? I went out and
bought a wine from the 2003 vintage, a full three years
old! Apparently two others in our tasting missed that bit of
information as well. There were three wines from the 2003
vintage in our tasting (only two different ones). They were
all by far the worse wines in the tasting. In fact, I don't
even think they were even on the radar screen of being
drinkable. Can I say that these wines were all bad wines
that you should not buy? No, not really, because I'm sure
had we tasted them all two years ago they would have
been just lovely! Now will never know. One of the Vinho
Verde wines, despite it being a spring chicken from the
2006 vintage, seemed to be flat and turning towards the
expiration date at a rapid pace as well.
Given these facts, it is no small wonder that the top three
wines in the tasting were the youngest three wines and it
showed. They were all really clean and fresh. Our
number one wine really ran away with top honors with its
closest competition being one of the Vinho Verde wines.
The third place wine was still barely hanging on the edge
of shelf life and showing many mature overtones, but
compared to the rest, doing a far site better!
So what did we learn from this tasting? Well first off, pay
attention to the vintage date when you are buying Albarino
wines. Don't ever stray further than two years ago. Two,
these wines when young and fresh make an ideal wine with
seafood, light salads & other light acidic dishes. Three,
six or seven Albarino wines in a row is just too many for
one sitting! Four, although I feel it is our moral obligation
and duty to the readers of this website to seek out and try
new and unusual grape varietals, most of our staff hates
white wines and would really rather be drinking red wines,
even if the temperature outside is over 100 degrees F. So
armed with all of that new data, we have decided to revisit
some old favorites in the upcoming months, but with a new
twist. For example, we will be tasting Syrah wines from
California and perhaps Zinfandel wines from a specific
region in California, etc...
I really should not even rate or put any tasting notes for
the last two wines in our tasting. It is really not fair to
describe them as rotten, especially since we never got the
opportunity to drink them in their prime. I am sure they
were great wines in their youth and based on reviews that
I have read about them on the web, they seem to have
really impressed many other wine critics. But...What fun
would that be?!?
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| Pazo Serantellos 2005 - Rias Biaxas, Spain |
Notes - This little light green dandy was a
virtual tropical paradise loaded with the
likes of kiwi, peach, melon and apricot
scents. On the palate, citrus fruits take
razor sharp and full of bite. A must for
anyone about to dig in to a bowl of clams in
white wine sauce.
virtual tropical paradise loaded with the
likes of kiwi, peach, melon and apricot
scents. On the palate, citrus fruits take
razor sharp and full of bite. A must for
anyone about to dig in to a bowl of clams in
white wine sauce.
| About $10.00 |
| Score B+ |
| Famega 2006 Vinho Verde - Portugal |
Notes - Clear, almost see through with a
slight greenish tint. A light refreshing
spritzer with peach and green granny smith
apples on the nose. On the palate it has
more peach with little lime accents and
finishes with a strong grassy note. Perfect
for summer sipping and light fruit snacks.
slight greenish tint. A light refreshing
spritzer with peach and green granny smith
apples on the nose. On the palate it has
more peach with little lime accents and
finishes with a strong grassy note. Perfect
for summer sipping and light fruit snacks.
| Around $6.00 |
| Score B |
| Salneval - Valle del Salmes 2004 - Rias Biaxas, Spain |
Notes - This version is more on the yellow
pale gold side and thus its an older vintage.
There are minerals and almonds in an
otherwise uneventful nose, but on the
palate, melon and peach flavors surface
rescuing this wine from being altogether
boring. Would have been better a year ago.
pale gold side and thus its an older vintage.
There are minerals and almonds in an
otherwise uneventful nose, but on the
palate, melon and peach flavors surface
rescuing this wine from being altogether
boring. Would have been better a year ago.
| Score B- |
| About $11.00 |
| Alianca - Branco 2006 Vinho Verde - Portugal |
Notes - This clearish green wine smelled a
bit off to me, with bitter almonds and a
little melon on the nose. That didn't
discourage a few tasters from enjoying it a
little. Next to the previous Vinho Verde
that was more bubbly, this was flat and dull
with traces of citrus. Not sure if it was just
this bottle or if they would all be like this.
You can't use the "It's an older vintage
excuse" for this wine, this was a 2006
vintage.
bit off to me, with bitter almonds and a
little melon on the nose. That didn't
discourage a few tasters from enjoying it a
little. Next to the previous Vinho Verde
that was more bubbly, this was flat and dull
with traces of citrus. Not sure if it was just
this bottle or if they would all be like this.
You can't use the "It's an older vintage
excuse" for this wine, this was a 2006
vintage.
| Score B- |
| Around $8.00 |
| Martin Codax 2003 - Rias Biaxas, Spain |
Notes - If people are of the mindset that
Barry Bonds is past his prime as a
homerun hitter in baseball, then this wine
is Babe Ruth. As in, dead, buried, and well
past its prime for a tasty beverage. If your
child has that smelly goldfish that just
won't die, pour a little of this in its water
and I personally guarantee you'll be
flushing little Nemo down a toilet in no
time!
Barry Bonds is past his prime as a
homerun hitter in baseball, then this wine
is Babe Ruth. As in, dead, buried, and well
past its prime for a tasty beverage. If your
child has that smelly goldfish that just
won't die, pour a little of this in its water
and I personally guarantee you'll be
flushing little Nemo down a toilet in no
time!
| About $14.00 |
| Score F+ |
| Burgans 2003 - Rias Biaxas, Spain |
| Price $18.00 |
| Score F- |
Notes - Is there such a thing as "Bitter
Wine Face?" My lips and face made
contortions after smelling and tasting this
crap that I didn't even know were humanly
possible. I suppose if you are up for a
combination of varnish, turpentine and a
sample of three week old urine from
Grandma, this will be right up your alley!
One sniff of this lethal concoction would
cause you to not just run, but trample, over
people to get to the dump bucket. In fact,
the only thing that seemed in order with
this wine is that it was brought to the
tasting by Brad.
Wine Face?" My lips and face made
contortions after smelling and tasting this
crap that I didn't even know were humanly
possible. I suppose if you are up for a
combination of varnish, turpentine and a
sample of three week old urine from
Grandma, this will be right up your alley!
One sniff of this lethal concoction would
cause you to not just run, but trample, over
people to get to the dump bucket. In fact,
the only thing that seemed in order with
this wine is that it was brought to the
tasting by Brad.
