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….

Hispania is a restaurant built on the ground floor of the historical building of Lloyds Bank in the heart of London’s financial district. Indeed, to call it simply a restaurant is probably something of an understatement, with two floors dedicated to exhibiting the very best of Spain, it holds a  license to operate as a restaurant, bar, shop and take-away. With a very accomplished kitchen brigade of it’s own, it recently played host to one of Spain’s top chefs, Quique Dacosta, who holds three Michelin stars for his own restaurant in Alicante. At a special 16 course dinner the guest list was not only studded with luminaries from the UK wine and food press (the BBC, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph, Restaurant, Food & Travel, The Times), but also included representatives from the Spanish corporate and institutional community, including ambassadors, executives from Santander, BBVA, Ferrovial and O2. Suffice to say that it was quite well attended…..

Obviously we were completely thrilled that our very own Castro Martin Family Estate 2012 wine was selected to accompany one of the fish courses, and was subsequently described by a journalist from The Spectator as “as good an Albariño as I have ever tasted”. Quite honestly we were just happy to have our wine served to such an illustrious audience.

Hispania is a restaurant built on the ground floor of the historical building of Lloyds Bank in the heart of London’s financial district. Indeed, to call it simply a restaurant is probably something of an understatement, with two floors dedicated to exhibiting the very best of Spain, it holds a  license to operate as a restaurant, bar, shop and take-away. With a very accomplished kitchen brigade of it’s own, it recently played host to one of Spain’s top chefs, Quique Dacosta, who holds three Michelin stars for his own restaurant in Alicante. At a special 16 course dinner the guest list was not only studded with luminaries from the UK wine and food press (the BBC, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph, Restaurant, Food & Travel, The Times), but also included representatives from the Spanish corporate and institutional community, including ambassadors, executives from Santander, BBVA, Ferrovial and O2. Suffice to say that it was quite well attended…..

Obviously we were completely thrilled that our very own Castro Martin Family Estate 2012 wine was selected to accompany one of the fish courses, and was subsequently described by a journalist from The Spectator as “as good an Albariño as I have ever tasted”. Quite honestly we were just happy to have our wine served to such an illustrious audience.

We recently received a review (and rating of 92 points) for our Castro Martin albariño from the UK’s highly regarded Tim Atkin MW, but this time it’s the turn of another of his associates in the United States. The wine writer Mary Gorman-McAdams MW has just recommended one of our wines on the Kitchn website (no, I didn’t misspell the name). Our A2O 2012 wine was very favourably described as follows:

“Produced by the Bodegas Castro Martin, A20 is sourced from a plot of about 25 acres within the family vineyards. Very lively and refreshing showing a tasty contrast of zesty citrus and honeyed stone and yellow fruit with notes of dried herbs and a balsamic spiciness delicately woven through the flavors. Juicy, energetic finish.”

Naturally we are quite proud when any journalist (or customer for that matter) praises any of our wines, but clearly when that individual holds the title of MW, then this simply adds a little gloss to the endorsement.

We recently received a review (and rating of 92 points) for our Castro Martin albariño from the UK’s highly regarded Tim Atkin MW, but this time it’s the turn of another of his associates in the United States. The wine writer Mary Gorman-McAdams MW has just recommended one of our wines on the Kitchn website (no, I didn’t misspell the name). Our A2O 2012 wine was very favourably described as follows:

“Produced by the Bodegas Castro Martin, A20 is sourced from a plot of about 25 acres within the family vineyards. Very lively and refreshing showing a tasty contrast of zesty citrus and honeyed stone and yellow fruit with notes of dried herbs and a balsamic spiciness delicately woven through the flavors. Juicy, energetic finish.”

Naturally we are quite proud when any journalist (or customer for that matter) praises any of our wines, but clearly when that individual holds the title of MW, then this simply adds a little gloss to the endorsement.

Tim Atkin (MW) is probably one of the very best wine journalists in the UK – a very serious and passionate guy. I am very fortunate to personally know many of the top UK journalists, and so I can honestly say that Tim is very well respected throughout the UK trade.

At a recent tasting he kindly awarded our Castro Martin albariño 92 points, and wrote “Angela Martin’s wines seem to get better with every vintage and are now among my favourite Albariños from Rías Baixas. The combination of low yields, ageing on lees in tank for added weight and very pure, almost transparent fruit flavours is very enticing here: apple, pear and some quince with a hint of honey.”

This is high praise indeed, coming from Tim. 

Tim Atkin (MW) is probably one of the very best wine journalists in the UK – a very serious and passionate guy. I am very fortunate to personally know many of the top UK journalists, and so I can honestly say that Tim is very well respected throughout the UK trade.

At a recent tasting he kindly awarded our Castro Martin albariño 92 points, and wrote “Angela Martin’s wines seem to get better with every vintage and are now among my favourite Albariños from Rías Baixas. The combination of low yields, ageing on lees in tank for added weight and very pure, almost transparent fruit flavours is very enticing here: apple, pear and some quince with a hint of honey.”

This is high praise indeed, coming from Tim. 

There is a website in the United States called Gayot (guy-OH) which is dedicated to the ‘Good Life’, posting reviews of hotels, restaurants, food and wine – it apparently gets 320,000 hits per month. I have to be honest and say that until very recently I had never heard of it! The reason that I have heard of it now is simply because they have rated our 2012 Castro Martin ‘Family Estate Selection’ as one of their Top Ten Seafood Wines – not only the only albariño in the top ten, but actually the only Spanish white in this category.

They said:  “The vineyards from which this Albariño was produced are on average 50 years old, lending the grapes intense, complex flavors. Having aged “on the lees” for five to six months, the wine also picked up yeasty aromas and flavors. A fine Albariño featuring white fruit aromas, it reveals peach, pear and lemon flavors with a generous minerality on the palate. Fresh white fish, oysters or sashimi would make excellent pairings.”

Naturally, we are quite happy with this recommendation.

There is a website in the United States called Gayot (guy-OH) which is dedicated to the ‘Good Life’, posting reviews of hotels, restaurants, food and wine – it apparently gets 320,000 hits per month. I have to be honest and say that until very recently I had never heard of it! The reason that I have heard of it now is simply because they have rated our 2012 Castro Martin ‘Family Estate Selection’ as one of their Top Ten Seafood Wines – not only the only albariño in the top ten, but actually the only Spanish white in this category.

They said:  “The vineyards from which this Albariño was produced are on average 50 years old, lending the grapes intense, complex flavors. Having aged “on the lees” for five to six months, the wine also picked up yeasty aromas and flavors. A fine Albariño featuring white fruit aromas, it reveals peach, pear and lemon flavors with a generous minerality on the palate. Fresh white fish, oysters or sashimi would make excellent pairings.”

Naturally, we are quite happy with this recommendation.

The Forbes business magazine recently published an article about the women winemakers of Rias Baixas. I am married to one of the originals (for a moment there I nearly wrote ‘oldest’, but then I thought better of it!). When Angela started making wine at Castro Martin she really was one of the very few women in our denomination. I think it would be fair to say that in many wine regions, as little as only 15 or 20 years ago, there were hardly any. Today the situation has changed dramatically as many of the best wines of our area are made by women – and who am I to argue with that fact?

The presence of women in the Rias Baixas denomination has recently been acknowledged by Forbes magazine, perhaps better known for recognising business entrepreneurs than wine makers. The interview with Angela was not conducted in person but rather in the form of a questionnaire, seeking her opinion on the various aspects of wine making within our area. As with many interviews the content was highly edited – Angela’s comment relating to food pairing was dramatically simplified, but at least her more significant comment about women wine makers remained largely untouched. To see the full article click HERE.

The Forbes business magazine recently published an article about the women winemakers of Rias Baixas. I am married to one of the originals (for a moment there I nearly wrote ‘oldest’, but then I thought better of it!). When Angela started making wine at Castro Martin she really was one of the very few women in our denomination. I think it would be fair to say that in many wine regions, as little as only 15 or 20 years ago, there were hardly any. Today the situation has changed dramatically as many of the best wines of our area are made by women – and who am I to argue with that fact?

The presence of women in the Rias Baixas denomination has recently been acknowledged by Forbes magazine, perhaps better known for recognising business entrepreneurs than wine makers. The interview with Angela was not conducted in person but rather in the form of a questionnaire, seeking her opinion on the various aspects of wine making within our area. As with many interviews the content was highly edited – Angela’s comment relating to food pairing was dramatically simplified, but at least her more significant comment about women wine makers remained largely untouched. To see the full article click HERE.

The single most important factor as either a wine buyer or a wine consumer is value for money. At the cellar door, when I was buying wine in my previous job, the discussion was always about the relationship between quality and price – and this applied to any country, in any language. Indeed, this is more or less the ‘Holy Grail’ of the wine buyer, to find the best quality wine at the best price – not necessarily the cheapest price, but the ‘correct’ price. To back this up is one of my very favourite sayings in the wine trade that I have pinned to my office wall: “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price has been forgotten”……. That says it all for me.

So, on the subject of value for money, we were very happy to appear on the Snooth website yesterday as the top value Spanish wine tasted in 2013. Snooth is a very big website in the U.S. (and around the world for that matter) and so it’s really great to have our wine endorsed by them, especially in an article about value. Click HERE to see the article.

The single most important factor as either a wine buyer or a wine consumer is value for money. At the cellar door, when I was buying wine in my previous job, the discussion was always about the relationship between quality and price – and this applied to any country, in any language. Indeed, this is more or less the ‘Holy Grail’ of the wine buyer, to find the best quality wine at the best price – not necessarily the cheapest price, but the ‘correct’ price. To back this up is one of my very favourite sayings in the wine trade that I have pinned to my office wall: “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price has been forgotten”……. That says it all for me.

So, on the subject of value for money, we were very happy to appear on the Snooth website yesterday as the top value Spanish wine tasted in 2013. Snooth is a very big website in the U.S. (and around the world for that matter) and so it’s really great to have our wine endorsed by them, especially in an article about value. Click HERE to see the article.

A2O Albarino, Sobre Lias 2011, Spania, Rias Baixas (Lagres 0-5 år)

Mosten har ligget minimum fem måneder på bunnfall. Rik, slank og syrefrisk vin med spenstig syre og flott fruktkonsentrasjon. Hint av mineraler, epler og urter.

So, how is your Norwegian? Probably as good as mine! Thankfully our Norwegian importer was able to help us….. This article appeared last week in Adresseavisen, a daily newspaper centred around Trondheim, a city renowned for its famous Trondheimsfjord, Norway’s third largest fjord. I’m happy to report that our Albariño was well received there by the wine journalist Ulf Dalheim, and his comment (translated) is as follows: “The wine has been on lees for minimum 5 months. Rich, fresh with nice acidity and great fruit concentration. Hint of minerals, apples and herbs”. 

A2O Albarino, Sobre Lias 2011, Spania, Rias Baixas (Lagres 0-5 år)

Mosten har ligget minimum fem måneder på bunnfall. Rik, slank og syrefrisk vin med spenstig syre og flott fruktkonsentrasjon. Hint av mineraler, epler og urter.

So, how is your Norwegian? Probably as good as mine! Thankfully our Norwegian importer was able to help us….. This article appeared last week in Adresseavisen, a daily newspaper centred around Trondheim, a city renowned for its famous Trondheimsfjord, Norway’s third largest fjord. I’m happy to report that our Albariño was well received there by the wine journalist Ulf Dalheim, and his comment (translated) is as follows: “The wine has been on lees for minimum 5 months. Rich, fresh with nice acidity and great fruit concentration. Hint of minerals, apples and herbs”. 

A day or two ago when I was writing about our Wine Advocate rating I decided to have a quick look back at our tasting result from the UK’s Decanter magazine. To my horror I discovered that, despite a fantastic review, being rated near the very top of the tasting in the ‘outstanding’ category, I had never mentioned the result on our blog site! Whilst I had written individually to our existing customers announcing our success, I had completely overlooked our social media outlets. So here is a new post relating to the article from the August 2012 issue of Decanter – nothing like being up to date……

The tasting panel comprised three Spanish wine experts – Ferran Centelles, former sommelier at the world famous el Bulli, and Spanish sommelier of the year in 2006. The late John Radford (who sadly died a few months after the tasting), award winning writer and broadcaster, having written several books about  Spanish wines, and Caballero de Vino Español. Sarah Jane Evans MW, wine writer and also a member of the Gran Orden de Caballeros. Owing to the highly qualified nature of this panel we were especially proud of the results:

A2O ‘Sobre Lias’ 2010 – Highly recommended (90-94 pts)

Smoky, earthy, leafy with bonfire aromas. Richer, ripe style with an off-dry impression; yellow peaches, golden plums and exotic fruit, with lime acidity underpinning. Finish is long and ripe, with plenty of finesse and expression.

Bodega Castro Martin Family Estate Selection ‘Sobre Lias’ 2010 – (Outstanding 95-100 pts)

Restrained example of Albariño, with green, refreshing acidity and a long, stony finish. Well made and full of green peaches, green apple and white flowers. Very food friendly and a wine that can be aged for up to three years.

A day or two ago when I was writing about our Wine Advocate rating I decided to have a quick look back at our tasting result from the UK’s Decanter magazine. To my horror I discovered that, despite a fantastic review, being rated near the very top of the tasting in the ‘outstanding’ category, I had never mentioned the result on our blog site! Whilst I had written individually to our existing customers announcing our success, I had completely overlooked our social media outlets. So here is a new post relating to the article from the August 2012 issue of Decanter – nothing like being up to date……

The tasting panel comprised three Spanish wine experts – Ferran Centelles, former sommelier at the world famous el Bulli, and Spanish sommelier of the year in 2006. The late John Radford (who sadly died a few months after the tasting), award winning writer and broadcaster, having written several books about  Spanish wines, and Caballero de Vino Español. Sarah Jane Evans MW, wine writer and also a member of the Gran Orden de Caballeros. Owing to the highly qualified nature of this panel we were especially proud of the results:

A2O ‘Sobre Lias’ 2010 – Highly recommended (90-94 pts)

Smoky, earthy, leafy with bonfire aromas. Richer, ripe style with an off-dry impression; yellow peaches, golden plums and exotic fruit, with lime acidity underpinning. Finish is long and ripe, with plenty of finesse and expression.

Bodega Castro Martin Family Estate Selection ‘Sobre Lias’ 2010 – (Outstanding 95-100 pts)

Restrained example of Albariño, with green, refreshing acidity and a long, stony finish. Well made and full of green peaches, green apple and white flowers. Very food friendly and a wine that can be aged for up to three years.

Well, what’s in a score? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – the score used for rating a wine is just a number. The main thing is that people buy our wine, but even more importantly, that they actually enjoy drinking it. The Wine Advocate has just published its article written by the Englishman, Neal Martin, following a visit to Pontevedra and his extensive tasting at our D.O. office. Suffice to say that all of his top scores were awarded to special cuvées, that’s to say the premium wines made by a few of the top bodegas (usually sold at a premium price). Out of the remainder of the ‘everyday drinking’ albariños (in other words the wines that represent the main production of each bodega), we actually did rather well. The two wines that we submitted were rated within the top handful of wines, and the tasting notes, I think,  speak for themselves.

A2O ‘Sobre Lias’ 2011

The 2011 A20 Sobre Lias has more complexity on the nose with subtle white peach and fruit salad aromas. The palate is fresh and crisp on the entry with Granny Smith apples, pear and grapefruit. It is focused, poised with decent weight towards the finish. This is very fine. Drink now-2018.

Bodega Castro Martin Family Estate Selection ‘Sobre Lias’ 2011

The 2011 Albarino Sobre Lias undergoes a six-month lees aging and that lends the nose a pleasant lift of apple blossom and greengage scents. The palate is fresh and vibrant with a twist of bitter lemon on the entry. It is well-balanced and fresh, hints of apricot in the background underpinning a focused, vibrant tangerine-tinged finish. Drink now-2017.

Well, what’s in a score? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – the score used for rating a wine is just a number. The main thing is that people buy our wine, but even more importantly, that they actually enjoy drinking it. The Wine Advocate has just published its article written by the Englishman, Neal Martin, following a visit to Pontevedra and his extensive tasting at our D.O. office. Suffice to say that all of his top scores were awarded to special cuvées, that’s to say the premium wines made by a few of the top bodegas (usually sold at a premium price). Out of the remainder of the ‘everyday drinking’ albariños (in other words the wines that represent the main production of each bodega), we actually did rather well. The two wines that we submitted were rated within the top handful of wines, and the tasting notes, I think,  speak for themselves.

A2O ‘Sobre Lias’ 2011

The 2011 A20 Sobre Lias has more complexity on the nose with subtle white peach and fruit salad aromas. The palate is fresh and crisp on the entry with Granny Smith apples, pear and grapefruit. It is focused, poised with decent weight towards the finish. This is very fine. Drink now-2018.

Bodega Castro Martin Family Estate Selection ‘Sobre Lias’ 2011

The 2011 Albarino Sobre Lias undergoes a six-month lees aging and that lends the nose a pleasant lift of apple blossom and greengage scents. The palate is fresh and vibrant with a twist of bitter lemon on the entry. It is well-balanced and fresh, hints of apricot in the background underpinning a focused, vibrant tangerine-tinged finish. Drink now-2017.