In a lot of ways, Albariño feels like the girl next door in an 80’s coming of age movie; I know it’s a perfectly good wine, but for some reason my attention always goes to the more popular, perhaps prettier, wines. You know, the ones on the cheerleading squad. Basically, what I’m trying to say is Albariño is like Susan Ursitti in Teen Wolf and we should all stop being big jerks and start being nicer to it.
This bottle comes to us from Lagar de Besada in the Rías Baixas region of Spain and is made from 100% Albariño. Since I’ve started blogging I’ve noticed a lot of winery websites are poorly utilized with meager content. The website for this producer provides only the most basic information, and there’s a strong language barrier, so I wasn’t able to learn as I would like. Though I did notice they refer to this wine as “a safe bet,” which makes my earlier comparison to Susan Ursitti seem that much less appropriate. Comparing their write-ups and pricing on this wine to their other labels, it seems clear that this is their entry level Albariño .
Despite the limited information provided on their own site, I was able to find a profile of the winery on the Rias Baixas Wines website, which paints them as a small, but proud wine producer with a passion for making great Albariño wines.
Featuring a tropical kiwi flavor and a light body, this wine is aggressively acidic. My tasting notes actually compare it to Shock Tarts, which now means this blog has more nostalgic references to my childhood than any previous entry.
Compared to other grapes, my exposure to Albariño is pretty limited, in fact I’ve had exactly 3 bottles. I was only half joking with that Teen Wolf reference at the beginning; the only reason I don’t drink more Albariño is because I’m always looking for something new. As it stands, I try one every time we start carrying a new label at work. Guess where this one came from.
To me, this seems like a perfect wine for nice a seafood dinner. If you’re on a date, this will serve as a more exotic choice than Sauvignon Blanc. I would be reluctant to have it on it’s own due to it’s high acidity, but every person has their own threshold for that kind of thing. If you get a chance to try it, leave me a comment and let me know what you think.