Fâmega Vinho Verde Denominação de Origem Controlada Vinho Branco 2007 This is a personal favorite for lean white wine on a budget. There’s citrus in the nose and the petillance is quite palpable on this date, adding to the livliness.
Notes on the ’06: Lean and green and pétillant – a great value example; petillance is gone with the second bottle in September but still the phenolic mineral grab and blazing acid are apparent.
The latest bottling code is # 0805074; Not an Alvarinho-only Vinho Verde as their are four grapes: Loureiro, Trajadura, Pedernã and Alvarinho. Bottled and shipped by Caves da Cerca, a negociant located in Amarante Pt. within the VV production zone, along the Tamega River just northeast of Penafiel 9.5% $6.49 at Bottle Barn
Burgáns (Bodegas Martin Códax) Rias Baixas, Denominacion de Orixe, Burgáns, Albariño 2007 In October of ’08, this vintage really exemplified perfume and fruit in the nose, with plenty of stone fruit in the mouth and the tangy acidity of fresh limes – nice. Further along in July ’09, the herbaceous notes are coming more to the forground, while the palate is broadening and gaining creaminess.
Previous vintage notes: This wine is ripe with tropical notes and a broad palate for a no-oak wine. This wine is back on track – clean and fresh. However it still is bottled with a hard synthetic cork so I wouldn’t want to buy this too far out from release. Both the 04 and 05 were dynamite to start and lost freshness as the year wore on.
Martin Codax is located in the fertile Salnés Valley on the Mont Burgans, P&B for Eric Solomon’s European Cellars in Cambados, Pontevedra, winemaker Luciano Almoedo, soils are fertile overtop granite and schist, no oak, only ss and light lees stirring, Rias-Baixas is an Albarino only DO in Galicia 12.5% The 2007 has gone up 25% to $11.49 at Bottle Barn martincodax.com
