Huela mi queso usted miman! - as some of you may already know, is Spanish for 'A beautiful glass of white wine!', a statement which I feel more than appropriate to describe a great bottle of Albariño which I picked up from Majestic the other day.Ok, I don't speak Spanish and I'm pretty damn sure that doesn't even say anything about wine, but I just thought it would set the scene nicely to tell you about the 2011 Caixas Albariño which is produced by Martín Códax from the Rias Baixas region in North-West Spain.
Spanish white wines are definitely becoming more popular in the UK than they ever have been, yet so many of the great spanish wines mean nothing to a lot of people in our rainy British Isles. White Rioja is one that seems to be doing well at the moment but Albariño, although not too far behind, still hasn't got the recognition it deserves. If you haven't heard of Albariño before, then stay tuned because once you try it, you will start to like siestas, eating cured meats, bull fighting and taking part in over-the-top crying at funerals, like a true Spaniard. Anyway, you'll love it.
Albariño is a grape variety known best for producing wines in north west Spain and its a big-god-damn-deal there, so its a shame that so few of us Brits have never tried the stuff. Martín Códax Albariño is a great benchmark for anyone who hasn't had this type of white wine before because it exhibits all the characteristics that you expect from the variety but it is also incredibly reasonably priced.
It is a really attractive vibrant colour and it has a very obvious grapefruity citrus aroma which I found was followed up with some really nice tropical fruit notes.
When you drink it, the citrusyness (yes I know that's not a real word) continues and evolves into green apple and a nice bit of mango a bit further on. There is plenty of juicy acidity, it could maybe do with just an extra half a percent alcohol to make it a little more clean-cut but it is still a delicious mouth watering white - Arriba! Thats a zesty hombre!
If you are a fan of shell-fish (a fan of eating them, not just a fan of them, that would be weird) then this is a perfect wine to drink alongside things like mussels and clams as well as seafood pasta. Otherwise, it's perfect on it's own too.
Caixas Albariño 2011 Martín Códax is currently on special offer from Majestic (who it is made exclusively for) at £9.99 a bottle or £7.99 if you buy 2 bottles. You should buy at least 2 bottles. its very bloody good. Olé!
Ok I'm going to stop now, it's just getting racially insensitive.
What are your thoughts on Albariño? Ever tried it before and if not, what's your excuse? Let us know below or on our twitter and facebook pages.
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