August 14, 2018
A staple of Spanish wine bars, Barbadillo Solear is all Palomino aged under flor for around six years. This is particularly aromatic, showing crushed seashells, day-old bread crust, chamomile, lemon cookies and blanched almonds. The taste is intense. Includes preserved lemon, dried peach slices, crushed almonds and chamomile (Manzanilla is Spanish for chamomile). More Information Barbadillo is a big operation with many arms (different wines and labels, including private label wines) but you don’t see too often in the U.S., especially in California. While it’s very popular in Spain, Japan, the U.K and Belgium particularly, the U.S. is not “hip” […]
March 14, 2018
Dynamite “PX” Sherry. Candied orange, dark honey, caramel, stewed and spiced apple. Super sweet, seductive, buttery and just plain yummy. Obviously, this is for dessert wine lovers. I deny those who eschew dessert wines to not enjoy this. For what you get, $32/bottle is a screaming-good deal. Barbadillo is a big operation with many arms (different wines and labels, including private label wines) but you don’t see too often in the U.S., especially in California. While it’s very popular in Spain, Japan, the U.K and Belgium particularly, the U.S. is not “hip” to Sherry in general. The myriad styles […]
March 14, 2018
A gorgeous Amontillado. Round and powerful in the mouth with flavors of lemon honey, dried apple, salt cured green olives and Filbert nuts. Dry, with a richness that substitutes for sweet (from the near 15 years of aging: 8 under the flor, 7 without). Extremely versatile in your evening (with dinner, or before with cheese & nuts, or after with cheese & nuts), I prefer it as my nightcap. Barbadillo is a big operation with many arms (different wines and labels, including private label wines) but you don’t see too often in the U.S., especially in California. While it’s […]
February 25, 2018
From the cool northwest corner of Spain comes this delicious white wine made mostly from the Godello grape (the native grape Treixadura complements). While dry, it has a honeyed, ripe peach and lemon verbena quality that some may interpret as off-dry. Has a delicious, slightly round mouthfeel that comes from its ferment in large, neutral oak barrels and aging on its lees 4 months before bottling. This is the kind of wine that just makes me smile.
February 13, 2018
The Menade Verdejo “Nosso” 2016 tarts with a nose of macerated peach slices and candy apple, then tastes of dried pears, more peach, bay leaf & dried thyme and grapefruit. Reminds me of Semillon in its orchard fruit flavors and slightly oily texture. I like how it balances the fresh and the rich. An excellent, flexible dinner table wine. About Menade Verdejo, a workhorse white wine in Spain, comes in all shapes and sizes. This is the most special Verdejo I can remember having. While it is in the Rueda, Menade eschews that region to dissociate itself from the […]
February 7, 2018
A delicious, and to me just about perfect, showing of the Albarino grape. Lemons three ways on the nose and in the taste: lemon blossoms, lemon zest, lemon oil. Playing back up, get yellow grapefruit, Macintosh apple slices and honeysuckle. Bright acidity and a satin texture (from aging on its lees for a few months – no oak). An ideal fish wine, especially fried fish dishes (or fried chicken, for that matter). Simply called “Granbazan” in most cases, this house is one of the stalwarts of Rias Baixas (very cool wine region on Spain’s Atlantic Coast north of Portugal). I […]