This Saturday we’ll continue exploring Spain, with a great line up of Verdejo, Albariño, and Tempranillo. These wines are just a handful of our Spanish favorites. They are all packed with character, flavor and complexity. The wines match up with everything from Tapas and Paella to Jamón. Stop in and see a little of what Spain has to offer.
 
2009 Bodegas Pedro Escudero, Valdelainos Verdejo, Rueda $12
A family estate founded in 1852, Pedro Escudero’s Valdelainos comes from prime vineyards in Rueda, where Verdejo excels. The wine is bursting with citrus flavors and a rich medium-bodied palate that is dry and refreshingly tart but still round enough with flavors of lemon verbena, grass, tropical fruits and lime.
 
2009 Viña Almirante, Pionero Macerato Albariño, Rías Baixas $15
Viña Almirante farms 35 hectares of estate grapes in Rías Baixas where Albariño thrives. The wine has good herbal aromas that blend with the fruity notes, with lots of citrus fruits standing out. 
 
2000 Bodegas Lozano, Gran Oristan, Gran Reserva, La Mancha $12
Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon
Bodegas Lozano is a third generation winemaking family in La Mancha, Spain’s largest wine growing region. Their Gran Oristan is no quixotic adventure. This Cabernet and Tempranillo blend sees 24 months in barrel and you can count the years in bottle. The wine has lots of cherry fruit with a dark subtle complexity.
 
2009 Bodegas Arrocal, Ribera del Duero $15
Tempranillo
Arrocal is an organically estate winery in Ribera del Duero which operates by gravity flow (the grapes going in at the top and the wine coming out at the bottom). In between it is aged for 6 months in French and American Oak. The Arrocal has plentiful blackberry and blackcurrant aromas including baking spices and floral qualities. Soft, silky and impressively pure, with vibrant dark berry flavors and fine-grained tannins.
 
2005 Bodegas Valsacro, Dioro, Rioja $25
Tempranillo, Grenacha,
A reserve wine but not a Reserva, the Dioro undergoes a four-stage selection process: an initial field selection of the fruit followed by a second table selection as the grapes at the winery, after fermentation wine best tanks are transferred to new French oak barrels for 12-14 months of barrel age, and finally the best of those barrels are chosen for the Dioro. It is a big and complex modern style Rioja. “Perfumed, oak-accented nose displays cherry-vanilla and blackberry preserves, with a sexy floral note and building spiciness. Full-bodied and velvety, offering palate-coating flavors of macerated cherry, dark berries and vanilla bean. Finishes very long and sweet, with persistent spiciness and a hint of smoke. ” Tanzier