A squeeze of lemon tightens the peach, melon and pear Albarino from a co-op in Rias Baixas. Spanish warmth gives this an easy and friendly generosity, one that would partner well with fish tacos or gentle green curry. A slick of spice perks up the finish.
Sasparilla, warm marmalade, cedar, toast, walnut and potent gingersnap warmth in this stunning, textural (and very rare) sweet vermouth (aromatized wine, and the first premium one from Lustau). Amontillado and Pedro Ximénez, each aged in their own soleras for 10 years, were macerated with 10 botanicals including before bottling. This traditional recipe incorporates wormwood, gentian, coriander and rich marmalade, textured with dried and frizzed sage to scent the velveteen whole. So balanced and complete, this vermouth doesn't even need an ice cube to be brill (though that could elevate it to another dimension).
Pouring a pale blush, this Cava is a blend of Xarel-lo, Parellada and Trepat. Soft and doughy on the palate, with brioche, yellow apple, strawberry and pear blossoms to a zippy, detailed finish and a moderate (6g/l) dosage. Nice weight and density for its 11.5%.
60-year-old Tempranillo and Graciano from the cooler, higher-altitude, calcium-clay soils of Labastida, in Rioja Alavesa. Finca de la Rica owns all the 39 ha of this village. A quarter of this was fermented in stainless, before all returning to French oak for 14 months. As grippy and strict as you'd expect from a youthful Rioja, though there's a lovely core of plum and cherry that counters the tight tannins surrounded by mulberry, warm baking spice, tobacco leaves, light smoke and leather before the tight, astringent, cocoa-crusted finish. This medium-bodied red is far too young to drink now without protein (think pork or lamb), but the freshness and authenticity is solid.
Purplish. Red and black berries, spicy oak and earthy notes on a typical nose for the Mencia grape. Smooth texture, sharp acidity and a fresh fruity taste in the full mid-palate. Notes of fruit stones in the warm finish. Ready to drink.
Clear medium-deep gold. Medium-intensity nose of orange, and grapefruit and lime peel drizzled with a lot of caramel. Medium-bodied, bone-dry but grapey and fruity, with a hint of pine nuts on the finish. Good acidity provides structure for this unusually elegant Muscat. Drink up.
This biodynamic, characterful and challengingly alluring white is mostly high-altitude 75-year-old Verdejo vines from poor, sandy limestone soils. A 10% splash of Chardonnay fills out this naturalist white, one shaped by the extreme continental climate. 50% was aged reductively in clay amphorae with the remainder fermented and aged in old oak barrels, with battonage for 10 months. Oxidative-leaning and salt-licked, this is roasted hazelnuts and almonds, pear skin, light quince, green fig and fennel to a lingering, salted stone finish. This wine shines when it has time open, allowed to warm some and expand.