Spain: North-West, including Albariño
2016 Gold: 4 Silver: 4 Bronze: 3 Commended: 7
2015 Gold: 3 Silver: 5 Bronze: 3 Commended: 4
Rather like the ‘northern Spain’ flight, these wines split opinion, with two neighbouring tasting teams simultaneously praising the Albariños for their ‘consistency’ and berating them for ‘inconsistency’. This book sees no reason to doubt either team (such contradictions are part of wine tasting), though we would like to point out that this is the third year on the trot when we’ve had two Albariños on our Gold List, so they were, at least, consistent in that, whatever the vagaries of the individual flights.
Interestingly, both the Golds came from 2015, suggesting that it’s a rather riper, more intense year than the ‘elegant’ (ie cool and rain-affected) 2014, which gave lighter, highly drinkable wines, but not necessarily ones that leap out of a line-up.
Perhaps most encouraging (and surprising) here was the performance of the reds. Two Gold-Listed wines, and five further medals was a hugely encouraging performance and suggests that the restaurant trade needs to start looking past Albariño, however much of a must-stock and an easy sell it might be.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘Punters would really like [the Mar de Frades]; it has depth and intensity.’ Natasha Hughes MW, team leader
‘The most consistent flight we’ve tasted.’ James Hocking, The Vineyard Group (of Albariño)
‘The most inconsistent flight today.’ Andrés Ituarte, The Avenue (of Albariño)
‘Albariño sells well, and it’s a crowd pleaser. If you like Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio, then it has more body, complexity and flavour.’ Ned Neville-Rolfe, Vinoteca King’s Cross
‘Albariño is easy to sell, so you just need a good-quality wine.’ Emilie Sagot, The Sign of the Don
‘The whites would work with a lot of seafood; there’s purity and a bit of saltiness in the wine.’ Charles Van Wyk, FJB Collection
‘I was expecting a bit more fruit opulence from the reds.’ Sam Caporn MW, team leader
FOOTNOTE: Includes wines from Galicia, Valdeorras & Bierzo.