White: The Other Spanish Wine

Maybe it’s the conventional images of a bullfighter’s cape and a flamenco dancer’s dress from old Life magazines or retro travel posters that make many of us, at least of a certain age, “see red” when we think about Spain. Similarly, when we consider Spanish wine, red almost immediately comes to mind, perhaps due to the popularity of Rioja and, yes, even of Sangria. But just as a few vivid images do not entirely capture the vast spectrum of Spain’s culture, fashionable Riojas and other classic and modern tintos do not totally represent the breadth and quality of its wines.

Indeed, ever since the death of General Franco in 1975 and the establishment of a parliamentary democracy in 1978, Spain’s wine industry has benefited from the country’s new economic freedoms. And, as with other wine producing countries, membership in the European Union has contributed much to improving the quality of the country’s wines. Old methods have given way to new; careless viticulture and shoddy wine production have been replaced with more meticulous and regulated counterparts. And the expanding markets for fine wine, both at home and abroad, have fanned the fires of Spain’s wine revolution: Cooperatives have been taken over by private estates; native grapes have been complemented by international varieties; and tannins have been better balanced with fruit.

The new Spanish whites, which are becoming more widely available in the United States, offer some outstanding values especially when compared to our domestic offerings. What’s more, they provide some appealingly distinctive alternatives to our formulaic, dare I say boring, Chardonnays.

With summer, not too far away, I thought this an ideal time to focus on Spanish whites that will aptly complement hot-weather dishes like pasta and seafood salads, poached fish, and grilled seafood. Indeed, some of these wines possess so much character that they make appealing aperitifs and perfect patio sippers.

Spain’s most popular native white-wine varietals include:

Airen, widely planted, especially in La Mancha, resists drought and is used primarily for brandy and local wines.

Albarino, from Galicia, can yield perfumed, elegant wines that are sometimes compared to Viognier. It is very popular in Rias Baixas.

Godello, popular in Galicia’s Valdeorras zone, makes a tangy wine that is both dry and light bodied.

Loureira, similar to Portugal’s Loureiro, is found in Galicia. It is often used in a blend with the aromatic white Treixadura. However, it can also be found bottled as a varietal.

Macabeo, wide spread in Northern Spain, is used for Cavas, Spain’s popular Champagne alternative. In Rioja, it is known as Viura and can produce wines with a floral character.

Palomino, found mostly in Southern Spain, is low in both acid and sugar. However, wine made from it tends to oxidize. It is often used to produce sherry.

Verdejo is Rueda’s prized white. It has nutty characteristics and is often blended with Sauvignon Blanc.

In addition, international varieties like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and even Viognier have found their way into Spain’s wines and vineyards.

So this summer, when the weather turns hot and you’re looking for a cool, crisp, refreshing wine to serve with dinner, try an affordable Spanish white and let the bulls go after the red.

For this tasting, we paired our eleven wines with two Spanish dishes. The first, a cold appetizer, was the ever-popular seviche, made with sea scallops marinated in lime juice and seasonings. Our second course was a quick and easy to prepare lenguando al limon (flounder in lemon sauce). We found the recipe in Penelope Casas’s The Food and Wines of Spain. Both dishes are great for summer entertaining.

For more on Spain’s new style of wines, see our earlier feature Where Have All the Tannins Gone?

The wines for this feature were generously provided by Jose Ramon (Joe) Gude, of Tempranillo Incorporated, located in Mamaroneck, New York. Their name on a bottle’s rear label almost guarantees a great wine.

As is our custom, we tasted each of the wines individually without any food and the again with our meal.

2000 Bodegas Cia. Vinicola de la Granja, Basa, White Wine, Rueda ($7.50)
This blend of Verdejo, Sauvignon Blanc, and Viura is very pale straw in color with slight tints of green. It has a forward nose of tropical fruit with some vanilla and herbaceous nuances. Light bodied and dry, it has an elegant mouthfeel. Crisp and tart, it offers lemon-citrus and mineral flavors along with classic Sauvignon Blanc grassiness. It has an adequate finish with lemon-citrus notes. It maintained its character with both dishes. A great value and a star of this tasting.

2000 Bodegas Mein, Vina Mein, White Wine, Ribeiro ($12.50)
A blend of Treixadura (75%), Godello (15%), along with Albarino, Loureira, Torrontes (remaining 10%), this wine has a pale-straw color. It has an inviting, sweet nose of honeysuckle, apricot, and some lemon zest. On the palate, it’s light bodied and refreshing, with tart apple and citrus flavors. There are some licorice notes as well. It has good acidity and a nice finish with some herbal notes. This wine was good with the fish but a tad too light for the seviche.

2001 Bodegas Txomin Etxaniz, Txacoli, Getariako Txakolina ($13.00)
A blend of two rather obscure grapes, Hondarrabi Zuri (75%) and Beltza (25%), from Spain’s Basque region, this wine has a very pale color. The nose is rather spicy, with hints of earth, slate, and green bell pepper. On the palate, it’s crisp and somewhat petillant, or fizzy. Light bodied, it delivers resin flavors of pine with some apple notes. It has adequate length and a pine finish with some lemon and toast notes. One taster likened it to “a fizzy lemonade without the sugar” and labeled it “a summery wine.” The wine was refreshing with the seviche, but its lemon-citrus flavors clashed with those of the flounder.

2000 Bodegas Godeval, Godeval, Valdeorras ($12.50)
The wine made totally from Godello has a very pale-straw color. It has an elegant, creamy nose with some peach, honeysuckle, and apricot aromas. Light bodied with good acidity, it’s crisp and refreshing and delivers lemon-citrus and mineral flavors. It’s a bit short on the finish. This wine was very good with both the fish and the seviche. It was refreshing and cleansed the palate.

2000 Bodegas Martin Codax, Burgans Albarino, Rias Baixas ($13.00)
Made from Albarino, this wine is very pale straw in color. The nose is forward and luscious and big with cream, butter, and apple aromas. Light to medium bodied and dry, it delivers plenty of mineral and pineapple flavors with nuances of spice. The flavors linger. It’s nicely structured with good acidity. The finish is good with some citrus notes. It was fine with the food and nicely supported the lemony flounder. Another star of this tasting.

2000 Bodegas Martin Codax, Martin Codax Albarino, Rias Baixas ($14.50)
Very pale straw in color, this wine has a complex, well-integrated nose of apricot, honey, nuts, wet slate, and apple. Light to medium bodied, it offers dry, subtle flavors of tart lemon and green apples. The flavors linger on the tongue. Well balanced, it has plenty of crisp acidity and a good citrus finish. Although a little too bright for the flounder, it was very good with the seviche.

2001 Bodegas Casa de la Ermita, Casa de La Ermita, White, Jumilla ($12.00)
This wine made from Viognier is very pale gold in color with hints of rose. It has a beautiful, alluring nose with crème brulée or butterscotch notes along with dried fruit aromas like sultanas or figs. Medium bodied and dry, it delivers peach, apricot, and fig flavors along with good acidity for food. It has a beautiful mouthfeel and the flavors linger. The finish is good with peach and bitter-almond notes. This wine would make a great aperitif. Although good, perhaps a bit overpowering, with the flounder, it was better with the seviche.

2000 Mas Igneus, Mas Igneus FA 104, Priorat ($15.00)
Made from Garnacha Blanca, this wine is light gold in color. It has an aggressively forward nose with sweet honeysuckle and apricot aromas complemented by oak notes. Medium-bodied and dry, it has burnt-sugar, bitter-almond, and bright-lemon flavors that linger. This wine has great length and a nut-like finish. It was wonderful with the fish.

Note: I should point out that our tasting panel almost came to blows over this wine. Three members vehemently disagreed with these notes, which reflect the opinions of two veteran red-wine lovers. Those who disliked the wine found its nose reminiscent of a pine cleaner and thought that the aroma pervaded the taste. One member commented, “It must be a white made for red-wine drinkers.

2000 Bodegas Nekeas, Vega Sindoa, Chardonnay Barrel Fermented, Navarra ($8.50)
Light gold in color with some green hues, this wine has pretty nose of apples and vanilla with hints of oak and honeysuckle. Medium bodied, it has lingering pear, apple, and mineral flavors that are complemented by nuances of cream and vanilla. It’s well structured with plenty of acidity. It has very good length, with apple, mineral, and toast notes. This wine was a little too “new world” for the fish. It seemed to overwhelm it.

2000 Bodegas Nekeas, Vega Sindoa, Chardonnay Barrel Fermented “Cuvee Allier,” Navarra ($10.50)
Pale gold in color, this wine has a big butterscotch and vanilla nose with hints of nutmeg and allspice. Medium to full bodied, it delivers lush apple and oak flavors complemented by spice notes. It’s beautifully structured and packed with good acidity for the table. The finish is long with lingering notes of apple. Good with the fish, it was even better with the seviche. A great value in Chardonnays, this was another star of the tasting.

2001 Bodegas Nekeas, Vega Sindoa, Viura-Chardonnay, Navarra ($5.50)
This blend of Viura (75%) and Chardonnay (25%) is pale gold in color. It has a sweet, perfumy nose of roses and honey. Medium bodied and dry on the palate, it delivers dry peach and herb flavors along with good acidity. It has a pleasant, but rather short, finish with apple notes. It was wonderful with the fish and seemed to exude floral violet flavors.

This month, our Book Review features the recently published Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy by Joseph Bastianich and David Lynch. It's an outstanding book and should be on the shelf of anyone, novice or oenophile, seriously interested in the subject of Italian wine.

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