Barbadillo Solear Manzanilla, Spain (£11.99, Waitrose)
When it comes to fresh and vibrant white wine, Southern Spain may not top our list of destinations. Typically associated with powerful red wines, the region’s abundance of white grapes owes itself to their use in specialty drinks like brandy, sweet wines, and fortified sherry and montilla wines in Andalusia. Despite being fortified, Spanish sherry’s lightest and driest versions, manzanilla and fino, are exceptional white wines with an alcohol content of around 15% ABV. A bottle of Solear, an exemplary manzanilla from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, the home of manzanilla, provides a refreshing and briney experience that’s best enjoyed chilled.
Waitrose Blueprint Moscatel de Valencia, Spain (£7.79, Waitrose)
In addition to their range of sherries, Barbadillo also produces a dry white wine that demonstrates palomino fino’s ability to create a highly enjoyable drink without fortification. The latest vintage of Barbadillo Blanco de Albariza Palomino Fino (2022) offers a breezy and subtly floral experience at 11.5% ABV. Meanwhile, the Valencia region’s vineyards are renowned for their extensive cultivation of white muscat of Alexandria grapes, which produce the golden sweet wines known as moscatel de Valencia. Waitrose’s own-label bottling is a great value example that balances sweetness with tangy orange notes, making it a delightful and uncomplicated dessert when paired with dried fruit and nuts.
Pepe Mendoza Pureza Moscatel de Alejandria, Alicante 2022 (£17, The Wine Society)
Winemakers across southern Spain are making remarkable dry whites utilizing the legacy of old-vine white grapes. In Jerez, Bodegas Luis Pérez and Valdespino have highlighted the importance of unfortified dry whites in the region’s future. In the east and southeast, vineyards grown at high altitudes and along the coast benefit from maritime breezes, humidity, and cooler nights, resulting in impressive wines from white grape varieties. Pepe Mendoza in Alicante produces a thrillingly fresh and subtly grippy-textured dry white, infused with Mediterranean citrus, herbs, and flowers from muscat grapes aged in clay amphorae.
Follow David Williams on Twitter @Daveydaibach
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
