We kicked off the 15th Virtual wine tasting with this Albarino. The group had many descriptors for this rather complex white that was tasted at room temperature and then chilled. The golden color of the wine was very inviting. On the nose we got honeysuckle, floral notes, golden raisins, lemon, stone fruit, and Mandarin oranges! The palate consisted of muted pear, peach and lemon. One of the members stated that the acidity was similar to a grapefruit- sorta sweet yet biting. The chilled version actually performed better by most accounts. There was more lemon on the nose- it smelled like Spring or Summer. Flowery notes with beeswax (honeysuckle carryover) were part of a sharper, crisper nose. The palate had what seemed like more acidity, was more focused and had a hint of caramel in addition to the citrus we mentioned. I gave them 12 and 14 points on the VWTC scale and would go with 91 regular points. For $17 you should stock up for a warm summer with this 5 star beaut. Drink till 2025. Salut….

The 10th Virtual Wine Tasting featured this Spanish wine as the lone white, which we tasted both chilled and at room temperature. I made a prediction right after I tasted the room temp version that this wine would be better chilled, contrary to the usual. I was correct.

The wine showed nicely in the glass with a pale yellow color and fine legs. The tasters noted melon, citrus, ‘soapy’, pear and honey. On the palate it was considered ‘mild’, ‘light’, with notes of grapefruit and apricot coming through. The chilled version gave me a sharper nose, was more vibrant and had notes of Granny Smith apples, pear and citrus. I found it more dry, acidic and having flavors of ginger and grapefruit on the palate. One taster mentioned it had ‘Zing’ from the acidity.

As I have said before it’s hard to run a virtual tasting and make my own notes when there’s 20 other people chiming in with their own opinions, but I do try to write down what the common theme is that we are all tasting. Overall this was a nice intro to the varietal and I really enjoyed it the next night as an aperitif with some Lebanese Mezza. It hit the thirst spot right on and was refreshing with it’s acidity and that Zing! Overall I would give this Albariño 89 points, but drink it chilled. 4 stars for this $19 effort. Salut….