I don't buy "own-brand" supermarket wines very often, but I fancied a bottle of Albarino to go with the evening's supper: the supermarket, Waitrose, did not have any recognisable domaine produced wine so I settled for Waitrose Own Brand Albariňo 2109. I was not disappointed this wine had all the flavour and character of a domaine produced wine, it was nutty with apple and citrus fruit flavours. It was dry and well balanced for acidity and sweetness. It goes perfectly with fish such as Sea Bass, Sea Bream, Hake, and of course Sardines. It was concentrated on the palate. It was typical of a Spanish Albariňo produced in the Rías Baixas region of Galicia on the Spanish border with Portugal. The wine is made of Albariňo grapes so it is varietally labelled - I can forgive the Galicians for this, just like I can forgive the Alsaciennes. Albariňo cannot be made by anyone else or anywhere else and it has its own unique taste. Riesling from Alsace deserves the same accolade.
However, it is not just Spain that makes "Albariňo" it is made on the other side of the Minho, Miňo -in Spanish, river in Portugal but it is called Alvarhino. The Spanish claim their wine is best and the Portuguese claim theirs is, but I think they are both equally superb. They are both classics of the Iberian peninsula and are very closely related.
After writing this I am going to Waitrose supermarket to buy some more Albariňo and some Alvarinho if I can find it. The Supermarket has got a 25% discount on six bottles. The wine will go well with tonight's chicken broth.
https://vinepair.com/articles/albarino-and-alvarinho-theyre-the-same-thing/
No comments:
Post a Comment