Sunday 22 April 2007

Valminor, D.O Rias Baixas, 2004 -Spanish

Apologies for the long gap between postings, this is mainly due to moving house and the usual lack of time in a busy schedule. But back I am and pleased to start with a lovely wine experience.
At long last Monsieur Vin and I are settled in our new abode and thought we should celebrate this by going out for a nice meal. It's a tough choice in Edinburgh, there being so many restaurants but we eventually settled on a placed called Iggs. Described as a Spanish establishment with an extensive wine list to boot. Tucked away on Jeffrey Street it's a delightful restaurant with excellent ambiance, with a tapas bar next door too.
The mainly fish based menu drew me towards white rather than red. I know very little about Spanish wine and although it's always nice to find a fruity Rioja, my whites is limited. The wine list is indeed extensive and excellent with wines priced from around £20 up into the hundreds. We were offered advice on our choice too. I chose the Valminor as it's 100% Albarino, a grape I'm pretty sure I've tasted before and enjoyed and at £25.50 the price seemed reasonable too. D.O Rias Baixas is situated in the cooler climes of north-west Spain, close to the Portuguese border.
To look at: It's a deeper yellow than I expect and looks creamy.
On the nose: It has a rich honey aroma, floral notes but an underlying freshness of peaches. It's a complex wine, each time I have a smell it develops and changes.
To taste: Surprisingly light given it's colour and aromas. The acidity is really well balanced and bursts of citrus lemon takes me buy surprise.
Coupled with the starter tiger prawns wrapped in jamon and halibut as a main it's a great match. I'm certainly going to look out for this one. They have a great website too, you can check it out at http://www.adegasvalminor.com/en_bodega.html

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