Thursday, April 05, 2007

Aveleda 2005 Alvarinho Vinho Verde Branco

Seems like the two hot white wines lately are the Austrian Gruner Veltliner and the Portuguese Alvarinho. Having reviewed a Gruner Veltliner recently I thought it was time for an Alvarinho. Alvarinho is the same grape as the Spanish Albarino. The Avelada Estate has been in the hands of the Guedes family since 1947, and is located in the heart of the Vinho Verde region in Portugal. This Alvarinho was ranked #12 in Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 Best Buys of 2006, with 89 points. Finding it at BevMo for $9.99 I thought it was definitely worth a try.
Brilliant, very pale, straw color (with perhaps a touch of green) in the glass. Ripe green apple with citrus and a hint of grass greets you on the nose. On the palate it is surprisingly round and full, but still crisp, with medium-high acidity and shy tannins. A very dry white with good length finish. Not to shabby according to me... Try it and let me know what you think!

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I tried this wine in a small restaurant in Boston's North End, Neptune Oysters, yesterday, and really liked it a lot. It went very well with the raw bar oysters and roastes monkfish dinner.

It is right up there with Les Rials for an enjoyable summer white, extremely drinkable, a case of which I just purchased. Looks like I have another case to buy.

Victoria said...

Dough,
Thank you for your comment.
I have never had the Les Rials and checked it up. After seeing the beautiful lable, reading about its interesting history and seeing one wine merchant naming it their perennial best-selling summer white I just have to try it. And at $6.99 per bottle. That sound like a steal! Thanks for the recommendation. Can't wait to try it.
Cheers!
Victoria