Tonight’s wine is an Albarino. This wine was recommended to me by two of my Twitter friends, who truth be told, I can’t wait to have a glass of wine with, in person. . .now if I could just get myself to Cali. . .
I picked up an Albarino last week, it was the last bottle of the only Albarino at the store I stopped at, and then today I ran by the store right by my house and picked up another Albarino. Because I was going to be sampling the wine with a few friends I thought it would be fun to have more than one so we could compare them.
Side note: Albarino is a white wine that is predominately produced in Span and Portugal.
First we tried the 2007 Nessa. This was my favorite of the two, but of the four of us drinking it I was in the minority, they all preferred the second one. We all thought you could detect a hint of Chardonnay in each one, but to me Albarino isn’t as bitter as a Chardonnay. This wine is smooth but with an unexpected zip. It is a smooth and fresh wine that is easy to drink, and because it is chilled it is a perfect hot weather wine.
The second bottle we sampled was the 2007 Nora. I can’t quite put my finger on what it was about this bottle that I didn’t like. I think it might have been the hint of grapefruit I could taste, which is not my most favorite fruit. To me this was more like a Pinot Grigio than I typically like. But the other three described this wine as cleaner and less sweet. We all thought we could detect the flavor of a Granny Smith Apple in both of them; what about you (if you’ve tried an Albarino)?
Don’t get me wrong I didn’t dislike the second bottle I just preferred the first bottle. These are the 3rd and 4th Albarinos I’ve had, and I have to say, I am a fan. I am so excited about his recommendation from Monica and Beau and want to make sure everyone else I know gives it a try.
Of course, now that I am getting on a white wine kick, the weather is starting to cool off and it’s time to head back to the red wines. . .feel free to send your suggestions my way!
Cheers!
Great post Kate! We would love to share some wine with you sometime! That would be fun. I am really glad that you got a chance to try some different Albariños. Since you are a fan I would suggest to you to try Sancerre. It is a lighter French white wine and I am almost certain you will enjoy it as well. I am definitely a fan of the Nessa as well. I have yet to try the Nora Albariño but will look out for some the next time I go wine shopping.