The Wines of Spain - White Wines

I had the opportunity to attend the 2010 Great Match: Vivacious Varietals. Tantalizing Tastes. tasting of wines from Spain this week at the SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills. The hotel is spectacular, the tasting rather intimate (compared to the other large tastings I have attended) and the 'tastes' provided by Bazaar by José Andrés, were innovative and delicious. The event really came across as laid-back but sophisticated, and had a small but friendly crowd. It was overall a great experience and exposed me to several wines that I can highly recommend. Spain has more vineyards than any other nation in the world, and is third in wine production. There is a lot of old world influence that remains, but many have adopted new technology and in some cases new world techniques offering a huge variety of wines, and wine styles. Spain is a very exciting place to look for new discoveries, good values, and classically important wines.

Today I'll share two white wine regions from Spain:

Rias Baixas - This region is a small area in the northwest of Spain that has used the Albariño grape to rise to prominence as a white wine producing area. Prior to this Spain was not internationally known for white wines aside from their sparkling Cavas and fortified Sherry. Albariño is almost always fermented in neutral stainless steel and when good offers a wide variety of flavors and aromas wrapped in both a crisp and creamy profile that is very unique. Two of the best Albariños at this tasting were:

Granbazán Ambar 2009 - Nice green apples and a touch of cream on the nose, with a limey palette, great acid, and some tasty salty minerals the make you crave seafood. Retails for around $20

Mar de Frades Albariño 2009 - This one had more of a floral/potpourri nose, but also offered a creamy mouthfeel with plenty of acidity and just a spray of ocean air across the mid-palette. Retails for around $25.

Rueda - A small neighbor to Ribera del Duero this region really had no claim to fame until collaborations in the 1970's realized that great and fresh tasting white wines could be grown from the native verdejo grape. I found one verdejo de rueda that I really enjoyed:

Cuatro Rayas Viñedos Centenarios 2009, Agricola Castellana - A little gooseberry and lime on the nose, followed by a very bright and slightly effervescent herbal taste. This wine is not in the U.S. yet but will be in the next few weeks and will retail for around $20.

Stay tuned tomorrow for an update on the red wines of Spain (Rioja and Ribera del Duero).

Any white Spanish wines you plan to drink this summer?