Bodegas Laxas Albarino, Rias Biaxas, 2008 – Spain

Despite a rather dismal start to summer, you can almost always guarantee that August will bring the heat!  And on those blistering days when you feel like cranking up the air conditioner or better yet sitting back in the shade, you need a wine that will leave you feeling refreshed, not full.  Albarino is all about that.   The Laxas Albarino is a clear brilliant wine with straw yellow and green nuances.  Intense aromas on the nose combine fruity and floral notes, (apple & stone fruits) and freshness on the palate.  A touch of acidity is perfectly balanced with the structure and body of this wine.  This is a “go with the flow” white that you can open any night of the week with dinner or have at the next cook out with friends.

Rias Biaxas lies in the heart of Galicia in the northwestern corner of the Iberian Peninsula above Portugal.  Galicia is known for its mild, maritime climate which is what gives the wine its freshness.  Also this region has more female winemakers than in any other region in Spain.  Historically the men would go out to sea to fish while the women would tend to the fields growing crops such as grapes for wine.  If you are craving a refreshing wine that you can sit and relax with, this wine will not let you down.

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS: This food friendly wine is a natural pairing with seafood as well as a nice contrast to spicy Asian cuisine and is also great with Sushi.

Domaine de la Quilla, Muscadet Sevre et Maine, 2007 – France

Gerard and Daniel Vinet run the well-known estate of Quilla in the village of La Haie Fouassiere in the Loire Valley.  A little known fact is that this village is the origin of the famous wines of Muscadet.  The village is located within the region known as Sevre et Maine which, some could argue,  is the best  area for the Muscadet grape type (which is also known as Melon de Bourgogne).  The Quilla vineyards are tended by Daniel and vinification is controlled by Gerard, his younger brother.  With the Atlantic influence, the harvest generally begins in early September.  The yields are not excessive and all the fruit is harvested by hand.  But the real key to the wines from Domaine de la Quilla is that they keep the wines sur lie for eight months before being bottled.  Sur lie is the French expression for “on the lees.”  Lees is the course sediment and yeast that accumulate during fermentation.  Wines are thought to gain complexity when aged this way for a few months.  And that is certainly the case here. The wine showcases floral notes, lemon tartness, oyster shell minerality, and wet stone hints.  For me, this is the wine to drink as a prelude to the meal.  I especially love it nice and chilled with some cool, briny oysters or simply on it’s own in the backyard with some good friends.

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS: his wine tastes like the sea so match it with a like to like mentality.  Oysters on the half shell, as I mentioned, are an ideal match.  But anything that comes from the ocean will have your taste buds singing!

Until a few decades ago, verdejo was used to produce inexpensive sherry-like wines — oxidized and a bit grim. These were a hard sell for export. In the 1970’s winemakers in Rueda developed verdejo in a style which was softer, sometimes floral and sometimes citric. Blanco Nieva is a beautiful food wine — fresh, direct, and with a taste strong enough to stand up to saffron, shellfish and chopped garlic.

Blanco Nieva has another advantage. It is inexpensive. Dedalus will let you carry this bottle home for $14.75.

Tuta 5/20/09

Rentas de Fincas Reserva 2002 is a warm Rioja.  This wine is soft and earthy — very agreeable.  Like so many Riojas, it has waited a long time for you.  In this case, 7 years, more than a few in wood.  The result is rich and smooth with a light crackle of tannin and cigar smoke at the finish.

Rioja is a remote district in northern Spain –  60 miles south of the Atlantic coast and 1,500 feet above the sea. It lies along the upper reaches of the Ebro River.  Spanish monks were producing wine in the region as early as the year 873.   Rioja suffered terribly during the years of the phylloxera outbreak at the turn of the last century.  Wine production dwindled further after World War II.  Only since 1970 has the region regained its productive vitality.

Rioja is known for long — often very long — aging in oak.   All this patience results in flavors of toast, smoke, earth and vanilla.   Rentas de Fincas is no exception.  The wine has an aromatic quality like an old cedar chest.  But underneath there is a powerful heartbeat of fruit and sun.

You can find this fine seven year old at Dedalus for $17.75.

Tuta  5/12/09

Priorat is a small county about two hours south of Barcelona in northeast Spain.  The grapes grow on terraces along steep mountain slopes.  The soil is quartz and slate – a dark combination called licorello.  The production is small, and the work is all done by hand.  There is no room for machines.  The wines are intense.

Priorat has produced great quantities of wine since the Carthusians established a monastery in the 12th century.  The vines were all destroyed by the end of the 19th century by the  phylloxera blight.  People turned their hands to growing olives. Wine returned in the 1950’s in bulk cooperative production.   Only in the last 25 years has Priorat returned to its former strength and vitality.

You could stroll over to Dedalus to try this bottle for $35.25

Dedalus and the Green Room bring you the first dinner in a new, regular wine dinner series.  Sabor will be a a chic dinner featuring edgy, distinct wines from several of Spain’s hottest winemakers.

Each course of Chef David Pratt’s food will have you dining at the edge of your seat. Each wine will bring you a step closer to the experience of a hip little bodega, on a dimly lit side street in Madrid. We prime the evening with a bubbly reception beginning at 6:00 followed by a multi-course dinner – with each course crafted to reflect the distinct nuances of the wine it is highlighting. Stay tuned to the e-mails for a full menu and wine pairings, coming next week.

With less than 40 seats available to the public, this dinner will sell out fast. Call the Green Room for reservations – (802) 651-9669

Dedalus has this fine rustic article for $ 19.50

Tuta 2/24/09

Spain has 50 different wine regions with a variety of soil types and 7 distinct climates. The country currently has the greatest number of acres under vine in Europe. The variety of soils, climates, grape varietals, and altitudes allow Spain to grow a wide variety of grapes; with the most popular being Monastrell, Tempranillo, and Garnacha.  Spain is the third largest wine producer in the world, after Italy and France, with an ancient winemaking tradition that goes back thousands of years.

At Dedalus we are always finding wines of great value from Spain, and we’d love to share them with you.  Join us on Saturday February 28th for a free in-store tasting featuring four of our favorite Spanish picks.

2006 Flor d’Englora Negre Jove is a worthy example.  This wine comes from Montsant, a Denominació d’Origen located in southern Tarragona on the Mediterranean.   It is almost  2/3 Grenache, 1/3 Samsó with a little Merlot and Syrah blended in for style points.   Samsó is an ancient Catalan variety – nearly lost a century ago to the phylloxera blight and only recently recovered.  It is valued today for adding structure and acid – that native bite — to softer, smoother grapes like Grenache.

If you like a little of the bark left on your wine, you will enjoy Flor d’Englora.  The taste is bright and focused squarely in the range of cherries and green apple.  The fruit taste is very present, almost forward in its intensity.  The finish is long and tannic with that whiff of smoke and charcoal which can only be from Spain.  The bright aperitf qualities would make it a fine choice to go with a simple tapas plate – ham, a tiny omelette with sliced potatoes, a hard cheese, olives and bread.   No real need for dinner.

At Dedalus for $ 15.75      .

Tuta 1/26/09