Drinks of the Month

Wine of the week: Candelilla Albarino  2018

Wine of the week: Candelilla Albarino 2018

If you’re an albarino fan you’ll have watched with dismay as the price has crept up over the last few years so much so that an albarino under £10 has become something of a rarity.

So it’s good to see this well-priced example, the Candelilla Albarino at £9 a bottle or £54 a case from Marks & Spencer.

For those of you not familiar with the wine it comes from a region called Rias Baixas right on the coast in the north west of Spain and is made from a grape called albarino. It’s a classic crisp, dry seafood white - less fruity than a sauvignon blanc but with more persistence and elegance than a picpoul and a slightly salty tang about it which would make it terrific with oysters and other raw shellfish. Think of it as a Spanish Chablis.

I bought a bottle for friends on Saturday night which we cracked open with a crab risotto and they liked it so much they were going to order a case. If you’re lucky you’ll find it on a deal over the coming weeks though now M & S has lowered its prices across the board they are less common than they once were.

See also The best pairings for albarino (and alvarinho)

Wine of the week: Casal de Ventozela Alvarinho 2015

Wine of the week: Casal de Ventozela Alvarinho 2015

If you’re a fan of Spain’s fashionable white wine albarino you’ll almost certainly like its Portuguese cousin alvarinho which is made just over the border.

It also tends to be slightly cheaper and more consistent in quality than the Spanish version

This one comes from Casal de Ventozela and is labelled Minho - a denomination that has the same boundaries as Vinho Verde but slightly different regulations - and is as fresh and crisp as a blast of sea air.

It costs a very fair £8.99 a bottle from Majestic on their Mix Six deal (by far the best way to shop at their stores) and would be perfect with any kind of fresh shellfish , especially clams and crab. Or a fish barbecue. (Think mackerel and sardines.)

Check out other good matches for alvarinho (and albarino)

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