Spanish white wines for the long summer
Spanish white wines for the long summer
Ver mensaje de Juan SuchNow that the heat is arriving in the northern hemisphere which are your favourite Spanish white wines for the summer nights?
I enjoy specially elegant albariños from DO Rias Baixas, some verdejos from DO Rueda and a few more. I look for aromatic complexity and good (and refreshing) acidity in the mouth, something that is not easy to found in most whites from the hot Spanish regions.
Some of my favourites in a quick list:
- Rias Baixas: I have no clear favourites here. I have found that they are quite irregular wines, sometimes with a bad QPR. I loved in the past Santiago Ruiz wines but I don’t know how they drink in recent vintages. Terras Gauda, Albariño de Fefiñanes, Pedro de Soutomaior, Fillaboa are some of my trials but there are not clear winners of my loyalty...
- Jose Pariente verdejo (Rueda) and Sanz verdejo (very good QPR)
- Guitian (DO Valdeorras). BTW, godello is a very interesting grape. Look for the white wines from godello in Bierzo too.
- Whites from López de Heredia (Tondonia reserva and Gravonia crianza). From Rioja are very interesting too the whites from Abel Mendoza (100% malvasia)
These are the first that come to my mind. And, of course, finos and manzanillas but these are on another league...
What are your Spanish white favourites?
Cava!
Ver mensaje de Juan SuchHi Joan!
I’ve always thought that cava is the best choice during summer, it is better served cold, it is refreshing and matches well with many dishes (I’d say with more dishes than any other wine type... :^D), it is complex, you have many types to try... ohhhhhhhhhh perhaps it looks I’m Catalan :^D.
After all, I like whites (with or without oak), rose wines, and some young reds... fino looks a good choice as well... in summer I like to take any wine, but of course the hotest daysm perhaps only cava :^D
And... water, of course...
Salut!
Joan
By the way... my favourite cavas:
Ver mensaje de JoanF...
Jané Ventura,
Bertha,
Agustí Torelló Mata,
MontFerrant,
Raventós i Blanch,
Gramona,
After all, they are white wines!
Salut!
Joan
Re: By the way... my favourite cavas:
Ver mensaje de JoanFI agree largely with Paco. Rueda offers very pleasant wines with good QPR, whether Verdejo or Sauvignon (can be hard to tell the difference, in fact!)
But Viña Sol is the one name that always comes up in English sites. Lovely summer wine, helped by its relatively low alcohol content. Viña Esmeralda is nice too.
I’ve wanted to try the Guitán Godello for a while now, but can’t get it here easily. And there are always too many wines for me to buy in Spain, thanks largely to you lot!
Saludos de la calurosa Inglaterra (no, no bromeo!)
My favourite cavas
Ver mensaje de JoanFOk, Joan, cavas are mostly white wines but they play in another league like the finos/manzanillas. I must specify still white wines :-)
I agree that cavas and Champagne are an excellent choice for the summer. Regarding cavas, my two favourite purchases in the last year have been Agustí Torelló (brut and brut nature) and Colet (Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Traditionnelle). Both have a good QPR.
Sauvignon and Chardonnay
Ver mensaje de suikoI usually don’t enjoy sauvignon blanc wines from D.O. Rueda. I prefer Verdejo wines.
Yes, the wines from Torres have an excellent distribution. Here in Spain in many seacoast restaurants they are the only acceptable choice. I usually prefer Viña Esmeralda (Moscatel and Gewürztraminer), an unsophisticated wine that pleases everybody in large tables.
Another line of wines I forgot to comment because I don’t know well are the chardonnays from Navarra or Catalunya: Nekeas, Chivite, Milmanda, Jean Leon, etc.
BTW, Waltraud (Torres) is a good riesling but at 15 euros I’m not sure it can compete in Quality-Price Ratio (QPR) with some Alsace and German rieslings. What do you think?
Re: Sauvignon and Chardonnay
Ver mensaje de Juan SuchNo, I agree. I tried it recently in Spain for the first time, and, while I enjoyed it, I think Alsace and Germany provide a better QPR.
I’ve found of the Verdejos recently have tasted like Sauvignon - maybe the yeasts? And the mad rush to make the dreaded ";international wine"; that the supermarkets love?