It’s not often that you come across a canine sommelier, and before you ask, no, I’m not taking any substances! This week we have our first tasting note from a Japanese Shiba Inu who lives in New York (with his wine-loving human companions). Shiba was kind enough to rate our A2O albariño as 4 bones out of 5 and commented: “Hehe, I need some food with this Albariño! Nice, gentle nose of pears, lemon, and white stone. Tiniest touch of salinity on the palate with lovely white pear, lemon, and stone notes. Nice acidity. Not the saltiest of Albariños but would pair excellently with some gambas! 

For more extraordinary dog ‘tails’, please visit Shiba’s very own website!

It’s not often that you come across a canine sommelier, and before you ask, no, I’m not taking any substances! This week we have our first tasting note from a Japanese Shiba Inu who lives in New York (with his wine-loving human companions). Shiba was kind enough to rate our A2O albariño as 4 bones out of 5 and commented: “Hehe, I need some food with this Albariño! Nice, gentle nose of pears, lemon, and white stone. Tiniest touch of salinity on the palate with lovely white pear, lemon, and stone notes. Nice acidity. Not the saltiest of Albariños but would pair excellently with some gambas! 

For more extraordinary dog ‘tails’, please visit Shiba’s very own website!

Our recent run of positive press in the United States continues, with two more additions to the growing list.

On the ‘Side Dish’ blogsite in Dallas, Haley Hamilton Cogill posted a paragraph or two about Bodegas Castro Martin following her recent visit to Rias Baixas. She wrote about our Family Estate wine – “Castro Martin Albariño comes from their sand and granite-filled estate vineyards that average over 50 years in age and is fermented in stainless steel in their gravity-flow facility. The wine is aged on the lees for around 6 months which creates a nicely balanced and elegant wine filled with tree and stone fruit notes like peach, pear, and a touch of white flower and fresh herbs.” (Buy the way, if you do visit this page then please note that there is an error in the information – our current Bodegas was built in 1981 by Angela’s father, Domingo. He did not buy the bodega as the text suggests).

For the second time in the last month or two we were also recommended in the Chicago Tribune – this time under the wonderful headline “Sipping away the dog days of summer” (the expression ‘dog days’ refers to the final months of summer when the ‘dog star’ Sirius rises with the sun). It would appear that Bill St John at the Tribune has developed quite a taste for our Family Estate wine too – “Fragrant, juicy, crisply finishing; let it sop up the food”. Castro Martin was one of a dozen or so wines selected from around the world!

Our recent run of positive press in the United States continues, with two more additions to the growing list.

On the ‘Side Dish’ blogsite in Dallas, Haley Hamilton Cogill posted a paragraph or two about Bodegas Castro Martin following her recent visit to Rias Baixas. She wrote about our Family Estate wine – “Castro Martin Albariño comes from their sand and granite-filled estate vineyards that average over 50 years in age and is fermented in stainless steel in their gravity-flow facility. The wine is aged on the lees for around 6 months which creates a nicely balanced and elegant wine filled with tree and stone fruit notes like peach, pear, and a touch of white flower and fresh herbs.” (Buy the way, if you do visit this page then please note that there is an error in the information – our current Bodegas was built in 1981 by Angela’s father, Domingo. He did not buy the bodega as the text suggests).

For the second time in the last month or two we were also recommended in the Chicago Tribune – this time under the wonderful headline “Sipping away the dog days of summer” (the expression ‘dog days’ refers to the final months of summer when the ‘dog star’ Sirius rises with the sun). It would appear that Bill St John at the Tribune has developed quite a taste for our Family Estate wine too – “Fragrant, juicy, crisply finishing; let it sop up the food”. Castro Martin was one of a dozen or so wines selected from around the world!

Back in April our Castro Martin Albariño was featured on the ‘Today Show’ (NBC) website as part or their Spring selection. As though that wasn’t exciting enough, we’ve now been singled out for the ‘foodie’ page of the CNN website, called Eatocracy – this time as a part of their Summer selection.

Ray Isle is Food & Wine’s executive wine editor, and with a circulation of nearly 5 million, Ray’s comments were also posted on their own Food & Wine website. He commented:

“What goes best with…? That’s the baseline wine-pairing question, and every wine expert worth his or her Riedel decanter has an answer for it. But realistically—and especially during the summer—there are plenty of times when a glass of wine will find its way to your hand with no food anywhere nearby. Cocktail parties, pre-dinner lounging around, beach house afternoons hanging out with friends, you name it. For these occasions what you want is the ideal aperitif wine: something light and crisp, not too high in alcohol and endlessly refreshing.
 
At the recent Food and Wine Classic in Aspen, which I was lucky enough to attend, I spent my time in the Grand Tasting tent hunting up some ideal, affordable, white wine candidates for this category. Here is one of my top picks:

2012 Bodegas Castro Martin Albariño ‘Sobre Lias’ – One of the best out of an ice bucket–full of Albariños I tasted, this layered, lemon-grapefruity white from Spain was impossible not to like. It’d be a great cocktail party pour.

Back in April our Castro Martin Albariño was featured on the ‘Today Show’ (NBC) website as part or their Spring selection. As though that wasn’t exciting enough, we’ve now been singled out for the ‘foodie’ page of the CNN website, called Eatocracy – this time as a part of their Summer selection.

Ray Isle is Food & Wine’s executive wine editor, and with a circulation of nearly 5 million, Ray’s comments were also posted on their own Food & Wine website. He commented:

“What goes best with…? That’s the baseline wine-pairing question, and every wine expert worth his or her Riedel decanter has an answer for it. But realistically—and especially during the summer—there are plenty of times when a glass of wine will find its way to your hand with no food anywhere nearby. Cocktail parties, pre-dinner lounging around, beach house afternoons hanging out with friends, you name it. For these occasions what you want is the ideal aperitif wine: something light and crisp, not too high in alcohol and endlessly refreshing.
 
At the recent Food and Wine Classic in Aspen, which I was lucky enough to attend, I spent my time in the Grand Tasting tent hunting up some ideal, affordable, white wine candidates for this category. Here is one of my top picks:

2012 Bodegas Castro Martin Albariño ‘Sobre Lias’ – One of the best out of an ice bucket–full of Albariños I tasted, this layered, lemon-grapefruity white from Spain was impossible not to like. It’d be a great cocktail party pour.

There is so much written about wine these days that it is quite normal for the odd review of our wines to slip under the radar. A month or two ago our Castro Martin wine, sold in Marks & Spencer was recommended by the Independent Newspaper as one of their wines of the week. Their correspondent Terry Kirby wrote:

There is so much written about wine these days that it is quite normal for the odd review of our wines to slip under the radar. A month or two ago our Castro Martin wine, sold in Marks & Spencer was recommended by the Independent Newspaper as one of their wines of the week. Their correspondent Terry Kirby wrote:

Bodegas Castro Martin Albariño 2012 – “Great credit to M&S to be stocking Albariño from this family-owned estate in the Rias Baixas in north-western Spain. Zesty, medium-bodied and full of flavours of pears and quince, it is almost perfectly designed for the bountiful local fish and, particularly, shellfish, while it is also fine for sushi.”

Oz Clarke, Tim Atkin (MW) and Olly Smith (aka ‘The Three Wine Men’), are all rated amongst the UK’s top wine writers. They recently held their annual summer tasting in Manchester, and were were very pleased to receive a mention for our Castro Martin wine that we sell to Marks & Spencer.

“Oz,  Tim and Olly made notes on their favourite wines from the event: Tim Atkin MW – Bodega Castro Martin ‘Sobre Lias’ 2012 ‘Lovely stone fruit aromas segue into a fresh, lime zesty palte with a crunchy mouth-watering finish.’’

Oz Clarke, Tim Atkin (MW) and Olly Smith (aka ‘The Three Wine Men’), are all rated amongst the UK’s top wine writers. They recently held their annual summer tasting in Manchester, and were were very pleased to receive a mention for our Castro Martin wine that we sell to Marks & Spencer.

“Oz,  Tim and Olly made notes on their favourite wines from the event: Tim Atkin MW – Bodega Castro Martin ‘Sobre Lias’ 2012 ‘Lovely stone fruit aromas segue into a fresh, lime zesty palte with a crunchy mouth-watering finish.’’

Last week was a busy week for visits – on Monday a small group comprised of some of the UK’s top wine journalists, followed later in the week by two days with a group from our U.S. importer (Frederick Wildman & Sons), and their distributors. Angela and I are completely worn out and have decided that we should create ‘virtual visits’ to use in future if only to save our vocal chords. Actually, that wouldn’t work at all – you really have to visit the region to discover it’s true beauty, especially when the sun shines, as it did for us this week.

Apart from the usual tastings and tour of the bodega and vineyards we took our American friends up a hill….. to the Mirador of San Cibrán – a viewing point that overlooks almost the entire Salnés Valley (where our Bodega is located). I think that the panorama is probably greater than 18o° and on a clear day is really quite breathtaking (even to those who were visiting from New York City). Quite a different skyline, but providing a great photo opportunity just the same.

Last week was a busy week for visits – on Monday a small group comprised of some of the UK’s top wine journalists, followed later in the week by two days with a group from our U.S. importer (Frederick Wildman & Sons), and their distributors. Angela and I are completely worn out and have decided that we should create ‘virtual visits’ to use in future if only to save our vocal chords. Actually, that wouldn’t work at all – you really have to visit the region to discover it’s true beauty, especially when the sun shines, as it did for us this week.

Apart from the usual tastings and tour of the bodega and vineyards we took our American friends up a hill….. to the Mirador of San Cibrán – a viewing point that overlooks almost the entire Salnés Valley (where our Bodega is located). I think that the panorama is probably greater than 18o° and on a clear day is really quite breathtaking (even to those who were visiting from New York City). Quite a different skyline, but providing a great photo opportunity just the same.

We have enjoyed quite a positive run of publicity in the U.S. recently – NBC, The Chicago Tribune, US Weekly and now Wine & Spirits Magazine, all within the space of a month or two.

In the August issue of Wine & Spirits we were awarded 90 points in their tasting of albariño. They commented about our Castro Martin Family Estate Selection 2012:

 “A big wine that feels constricted by reduction, this packs a range of fruit flavors, from peach to apricot, orange zest and tropical fruits. Though broad and generously textured, it’s a little hard to follow for now, needing time to settle out in bottle and mature over the next year or two.”

It’s nice to see that our wine is now acknowledged as having ageing potential – we work very hard to ‘educate’ our customers in this respect. The vast majority of consumers still believe that albariño can only be drunk whilst it’s young, but clearly, with the extended lees ageing period during our wine making (Sobre Lias), we add considerable longevity to our wines, meaning that (assuming they are correctly stored), they will age quite agreeably in bottle for at least a year or two.

Pass it on!

We have enjoyed quite a positive run of publicity in the U.S. recently – NBC, The Chicago Tribune, US Weekly and now Wine & Spirits Magazine, all within the space of a month or two.

In the August issue of Wine & Spirits we were awarded 90 points in their tasting of albariño. They commented about our Castro Martin Family Estate Selection 2012:

 “A big wine that feels constricted by reduction, this packs a range of fruit flavors, from peach to apricot, orange zest and tropical fruits. Though broad and generously textured, it’s a little hard to follow for now, needing time to settle out in bottle and mature over the next year or two.”

It’s nice to see that our wine is now acknowledged as having ageing potential – we work very hard to ‘educate’ our customers in this respect. The vast majority of consumers still believe that albariño can only be drunk whilst it’s young, but clearly, with the extended lees ageing period during our wine making (Sobre Lias), we add considerable longevity to our wines, meaning that (assuming they are correctly stored), they will age quite agreeably in bottle for at least a year or two.

Pass it on!

We have enjoyed two or three mentions in the U.S. press recently, which means that we must at least be doing something right. Our latest mention was possibly the briefest that we have ever had, but in terms of circulation, it is also one of the biggest. The U.S. Weekly magazine – I am told that this is a celebrity/gossip magazine and is similar to People, albeit I must confess that I am not really familiar with either. Spain is of course, the birthplace of Hola (Hello) magazine, and so quite naturally, we are more than familiar with celebrity gossip! So, if it’s good enough for the Kardashians, then it must be good enough for Castro Martin!

Oh, and by the way, U.S. Weekly described our wine as “brightly acidic”…. short, and to the point.

We have enjoyed two or three mentions in the U.S. press recently, which means that we must at least be doing something right. Our latest mention was possibly the briefest that we have ever had, but in terms of circulation, it is also one of the biggest. The U.S. Weekly magazine – I am told that this is a celebrity/gossip magazine and is similar to People, albeit I must confess that I am not really familiar with either. Spain is of course, the birthplace of Hola (Hello) magazine, and so quite naturally, we are more than familiar with celebrity gossip! So, if it’s good enough for the Kardashians, then it must be good enough for Castro Martin!

Oh, and by the way, U.S. Weekly described our wine as “brightly acidic”…. short, and to the point.

There are quite a few famous broadsheet newspapers across America, some of the most well known probably include the New York Times, the L.A. Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Boston Globe. We are very happy therefore, to tell you that in the last few days we received quite a positive mention in the Chicago Tribune. When I saw it, it really made me smile, not only because we had been rated as one of a handful of “Iberian white wine to watch”, but mainly because of the review itself – short, succinct and very much to the point. Indeed, I don’t recall ever seeing a review that somehow managed to capture the essence of our wine in only three words “Lime-y and briny”…….. says it all. The review in full is as follows:

2012 Bodegas Castro Martin Albariño ‘Sobre Lias’: Lime-y and briny, so it says, “Find me shellfish or oysters, por favor“. 

It might not be the most grandiloquent review that we have ever received, but it works for me!

There are quite a few famous broadsheet newspapers across America, some of the most well known probably include the New York Times, the L.A. Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Boston Globe. We are very happy therefore, to tell you that in the last few days we received quite a positive mention in the Chicago Tribune. When I saw it, it really made me smile, not only because we had been rated as one of a handful of “Iberian white wine to watch”, but mainly because of the review itself – short, succinct and very much to the point. Indeed, I don’t recall ever seeing a review that somehow managed to capture the essence of our wine in only three words “Lime-y and briny”…….. says it all. The review in full is as follows:

2012 Bodegas Castro Martin Albariño ‘Sobre Lias’: Lime-y and briny, so it says, “Find me shellfish or oysters, por favor“. 

It might not be the most grandiloquent review that we have ever received, but it works for me!

The Today Show has been running on the NBC network since 1952 and is one of the longest running series on U.S. television. It is also one of the most watched early morning shows and is broadcast from the famous Rockefeller Centre in New York City (30 Rock). The show also has it’s own website that apparently attracts some 12 million visitors a month. In recent days their wine contributor Edward Deitch added an article entitled “Spanish albariño makes for pleasant spring sipping” – we were delighted that our very own Castro Martin Family Estate Selection was one of the four wines that he selected to write about. Edward wrote:

“With its Atlantic, cool-climate influence, Rias Baixas produces fresh and lively wines infused with citrus and herb notes that are relatively low in alcohol and are delightful for spring and summer drinking with fish, shellfish and other lighter foods

I liked the somewhat richer style of Bodega Castro Martin’s 2012 Albariño “Sobre Lias,” a reference to aging on the lees, the solids of the grapes that give the wine a slightly creamy quality. But freshness is there as well in this $18 wine with lots of citrus, including lime, orange and pink grapefruit, as well as hints of green olive and exotic spices.”

It appears that spring might have finally arrived, so corkscrews at the ready….

The Today Show has been running on the NBC network since 1952 and is one of the longest running series on U.S. television. It is also one of the most watched early morning shows and is broadcast from the famous Rockefeller Centre in New York City (30 Rock). The show also has it’s own website that apparently attracts some 12 million visitors a month. In recent days their wine contributor Edward Deitch added an article entitled “Spanish albariño makes for pleasant spring sipping” – we were delighted that our very own Castro Martin Family Estate Selection was one of the four wines that he selected to write about. Edward wrote:

“With its Atlantic, cool-climate influence, Rias Baixas produces fresh and lively wines infused with citrus and herb notes that are relatively low in alcohol and are delightful for spring and summer drinking with fish, shellfish and other lighter foods

I liked the somewhat richer style of Bodega Castro Martin’s 2012 Albariño “Sobre Lias,” a reference to aging on the lees, the solids of the grapes that give the wine a slightly creamy quality. But freshness is there as well in this $18 wine with lots of citrus, including lime, orange and pink grapefruit, as well as hints of green olive and exotic spices.”

It appears that spring might have finally arrived, so corkscrews at the ready….