Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Excellent Spanish whites

My good friend André Tamers of De Maison Selections was in the LA area, so I went up to Santa Monica to meet him for dinner. We went to this new Basque-style Tapas place called Pintxo on Santa Monica Boulevard. It was a fun little joint and I wish them success. I’d maybe cut down on the bread, but the fried little fishies and peppers were great. We were having fun, so the notes weren’t detailed. André is a friend, so you might think I’m biased (he doesn’t, because he hears all the shit I give him), but his Northwestern Spain portfolio contains some of the most exciting wines in the last few years.

2007 Ameztoi Rubentis

You have to ask? Again, maybe the Spanish rosé of the vintage for me and will be in the fridge all summer. Ameztoi is really hitting all the right notes for me over the past few years. Txakoli in kegs is the next big thing. Remember, the vlm-tr is a taste maker!

2006 Do Ferreiro Rebisaca

A distinct step down from the Albariño for me. The wine is fine, I guess, just not something to drink when the Albariño is around. The comparison is probably unfair. Lots of reliable palates (like Josh Raynolds) like this more than I do.

2006 Do Ferreiro Albariño

Maybe the best vintage of this excellent wine to date. Really intense and driving with a saline drill through your jaw. Killer.

2006 Do Do Ferreiro Albariño Cepas Vellas

Profound. The minerals almost completely mask the fruit. I don’t always prefer the Cepas Vellas to the regular wine here, but this year, for some reason, there is a gulf in class, and given the high quality of the regular, that is saying something. I think I’ll throw a couple bottles in deep storage just to see what happens.

2006 Emilio Rojo Ribeiro

Here’s the thing about this wine, it isn’t the most powerful or the most intense, it has a feathery like beauty of taffeta layered nuance. One really interesting trait of this wine is that it reminds you of other wines, like Puligny Caillerets, Achleiten Riesling, and Savoie Altesse without being exactly like any of them, it is at once very much reminiscent of these wines, but its own thing entirely. I’m not really sure what more I have to say about this wine, I’ve posted several glowing notes and this one is no different. In case you can’t tell, this is the white wine that I am currently infatuated with. I could drink my body weight in this if there were enough of an allocation.

1 comment:

slaton said...

I helped inhale a bottle of that Rubentis Txakolina rosé while visiting my sis in Portland last week. Almost weightless, with just a whisper of strawberry fruit alongside the salty-sea nuances. I wish it was a few bucks cheaper but there you are. While I'm at it I'd like to find that Ribeiro you keep writing about, but no sign of it in any of my usual haunts - although I did come across the 2006 Cepas Vellas the other day. I enjoyed a few bottles of the 2005 in Spain last summer, but that wine didn't quite move me to seek out future vintages at the $35+ they go for here. Incredible complexity, but really heavy/high alcohol and wanting for zip or cut. The 8 euro Blanco Nieva Rueda Pie Franco was nearly as interesting and far more drinkable, and I've been able to find that on this side of the pond for $14 (which is admittedly a steal).