Licia Albarino - Another Great Summer Wine

From the beautiful, temperate region of Galacia, Spain called Rias Baixas comes this delightful Albarino called Licia.

Discovered at a favorite NY restaurant, Employees Only. I always love there wine selections. I found this wine smoother and more sophisticated than many Albarinos I have tasted. Very nice citrus fruit and smooth balance sugar to acid. Perfect for seafood, hummus, chicken and Spanish cheese. 

It can be purchased at Leigh Haydons' great wine shop, just a block off Route 3 in Lyndhurst, New Jersey see it here Winepro.

I took two bottles to a dinner party last night, at Bradford Pool Club, Montclair. Everyone loved the wine. Similar but richer than a Pinot Grigio, nice citrus fruit, good balance, I'll have some more.. were some of the comments.

The Wine Advocate says "The 2005 Licia Albarino is light gold-colored with attractive mineral, green apple, and honey aromas. It has excellent concentration, good acidity, and a lingering finish. Drink it over the next year with intensely flavored shellfish. This is an excellent value in Albarino." Score: 88. —Jay Miller, February 2007.

This wine would be great to take on a trip to the Ironbound district in Newark.

Places like Adega Grill, Brasilia Grill or Casa Vasca. In Montclair I would bring ths wine to Gaucho Steak, Raymond's, Lalezar or Cafe Sultan. It is a nice alternate to Sauviginon Blanc and Pinot Grigio.

"The Lícia label is a project between Winebow and winery owner Jose Limeres, a native of the Galician town of Pontevedra. Limeres, owner of several successful restaurants in Madrid, entered the wine business when he was searching for a reliable supplier of quality wines for his restaurants. He bought his first property in O Rosal and planted native varieties that flourished in its unique climate and soil. The resulting wines proved a hit, particularly his Albariño which strikes just the right balance of sugar and acidity. The vineyards for Lícia's wine are located in the O Rosal and Condado de Tea subzones of DO Rías Baixas. The vineyards of O Rosal run inland as far as Tuy and are terraced into the sides of the River Miño where it opens into a wide estuary. The topsoil is correspondingly alluvial, with clay and sand over granitic topsoil. Condado de Tea stretches from Tuy along the Miño Valley to meet the Ribiero DO. The area is made up of complex small river valleys. Here granite bedrock and slate come to the surface." Importer Winebow