Looking for the perfect wine to deaden the pain of good weather and grilled seafood? You’ve come to the right blog. There’s a fantastic new white that’s crept into Ontario without much fanfare: the Licia 2007 Albarino from the Rias Baixas region of Spain ($19.95 [Ed. note: No longer available], Vintages #114397, 89/100). This is a fresh, floral wine that has something for everyone: fruity without being heavy, lively without being sharp, and clean without being simple. The main flavours are pink grapefruit and peach; it’s a peach of a wine.
You owe this bottle to the Catholic Church. Say what you will about controversial topics like reproductive rights or Mother Theresa, there can be no doubt that Catholicism is a great benefactor for the wine lover. The need for sacramental wine has meant that the clergy has founded as many vineyards as it has churches. I think all that transubstantiation gave these men of god a discerning palate. In fact, monks birthed some of the greatest wineries in the world, such as le Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy. Now that’s theology. There’s an old monk’s prayer that says “He who drinks will sleep. He who sleeps, cannot sin.”
The Licia only exists because several centuries ago, some rather farsighted Cistercian Monks planted the “Albarino” grape in the Rias Baixas region (pronounced “ree-ass by-shass”) in northwest Spain. Spain is not well-known for its white wines, mainly because they are generally flabby and faded by international standards – the result of a national habit of over-exposing them to air during the winemaking process. The Albarinos of the Rias Baixas are one of the most delightful and dependable exceptions to this rule – you can’t really go wrong when you pop the cork on one of these babies, no matter who’s the producer.
Albarino makes a dry white wine that is floral and aromatic. It combines the flavour profile of Riesling (racy acidity), Pinot Grigio (a scented nose) and Sauvignon Blanc (the lip-smacking fruit). It makes a perfect pairing with seafood or avocado salad, and should be drunk young. The only problem with Albarino is that each vine creates a limited yield of fruit, but this is actually a boon since lower yields concentrates the flavours into the few remaining grapes.
Stay tuned next week, when I’ll dive into another of Spain’s great native grapes, Tempranillo.
Matthew Sullivan is a civil litigator in Toronto. He writes a weekly blog entry here on lawandstyle.ca. The Short Cellar column appears in the print edition of Precedent. Matthew can be reached at matthew@lawandstyle.beta-site.ca