Malcolm Jolley finds a last days of summer white from Spain…
The 2018 Bodegas Eidosela Albariño Rais Baixas DO (LCBO# 33271 | $18.95) is made by co-operative of 60 odd small landholders on the Spanish side of the Minho River, across from Portugal. Formed in 2003, Bodegas Eidosela makes wine in the way of the new wave of co-operative producers, pooling resources to save costs on production and marketing, but preserving small scale farming in the vineyards. For consumers, the happy result is well made wines at fair prices, and their 2018 Albariño is prime example of this welcome trend.
Influenced by the North Atlantic, the northwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula is cooler and greener than most of the rest of the land mass south of the Pyrenees. This is white wine country, and the Albariño is bright with food friendly acidity, which famously pairs with the region’s bountiful seafood. The 2018 Eidosela Albariño is full of that acid and runs the gauntlet tart citrus flavours, but its also got a touch of stone fruit, some depth and body, and just a touch of herbal aromatic on the nose. It holds up on it’s own as an aperitif, or with whatever pre-dinner snacks can be found to lay out. For $19 it’s certainly worth a try.
Click here to find an LCBO Vintages stocking it near you.
