World renowned wine figure Jancis Robinson recently tasted several wines from one of our Spanish producers, Coto de Gomariz. She tasted both the 2008 Blanco and the 2008 “X” Albariño and seemed to enjoy them enough to feature them as her “wine of the week” picks on her website, www.jancisrobinson.com. While the region of Rias Baixas is still gaining popularity for it’s Albariño’s, Coto de Gomariz is located in nearby D.O. Ribeiro where treixadura is the grape of choice for producing crisp and complex white burgundy-esque wines. Wonderful acidity and mineralty due to the granite and schist soils make these wines a fantastic summer wine, especially when pairing alongside seafood and shellfish. I recently had a glass of the Blanco with the Bonito del Norte Salad from the Garces Trading Co. in Philadelphia and it was incredible. (Sorry Chef Garces, Cat Cora is still my favorite Iron Chef!)
While Jancis’ recent post mentioned that the Coto de Gomariz wines aren’t available in the US, I assure you they are, albeit in small quantities. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board carries both the 2008 Blanco and “X” Albariño, along with another one of their white wines, the 2007 Colleita Seleccionada. They also carry three fascinating red wines from the same producer using other native varieties such as Mencia, Brancellao, Ferrol, Sousón and Caiño. The 2008 Coto de Gomariz Blanco will also be available very soon for order through Flickingerwines.com who is set up to ship to any state where direct shipping of alcohol is allowed. So, if you live in Pennsylvania or nearby bordering states, you shouldn’t have a hard time finding these amazing wines at your nearest PLCB wine store. If you’re not located near to any of these stores, I encourage you to visit Flickingerwines.com and see their entire listing of amazing wines from all over the world.
Cheers,
Michael