Alcohol: 12.5%
Grape(s): Albarino
Localization: Rias Baixas, Spain
Tasting Notes: Brilliant yellow. Lively aromas of quince, lemon zest and jasmine pick up a strong mineral element with air. Dry, sharply focused and nervy on the palate, offering densely packed, refreshingly bitter citrus pith, pear skin and honeysuckle flavors that show excellent clarity. Closes taut and stony, displaying tight grip, a hint of honeysuckle and lingering floridity.
Notes: In the case of Columna, we find ourselves in Condado de Tea, on the banks of the Miño river, inland from the coast and just above the border with Portugal. As the warmest and driest subzone, Condado de Tea produces wines that showcase more generous fruit and ample body than those from the coast. Rodri Mendez, their resident guru of Albariño, makes this wine from vineyards planted in the mid to late 70s in granite soils. Like all his wines, Columna is painstakingly handmade from harvest to bottle, using ambient yeast fermentation. Finished in stainless steel, Columna is a fresh, approachable expression of Albariño that is a versatile pair for a wide variety of food or delicious by itself.
Food Pairing: Albariño's crisp clean flavors are extremely versatile. Seafood, clams, oysters are what the local Galician people eat with this queenly grape. It also pairs like magic with Sushi, Indian, or Thai. Other pairings that are successful include hard-to-pair, popular take-out meals like cold sesame noodles, chicken tikka masala, pad thai, and tacos.
The Domain: Made from 100% Albariño grapes tended in granite soil. The vineyards are located next to the Miño river in Galicia (North West of Spain) within the Condado de Tea subzone of Rias Baixas. Out of the 5 Subzones of Rias Baixas, Condado de Tea is the most southern subzone and furthest from the Atlantic Ocean. The North East of Spain is known for making the best white wines in the Iberian Peninsula. Out of the 200+ indigenous grapes found in this area, Albariño is the queen. She sustains the farmers of the region. Columna is a very unique expression of this queenly grape due to its southern and interior location – resulting in a style that is bright, floral mineral and at the same time rich. The vineyards that produce this outstanding expression of Albariño are tended in the local popular Emparrado trellis system, which was invented by the Romans during the 2nd century to maximize air circulation allowing for a better drier ripening season. The winemaker Rodri Mendez is no less than Raul Perez disciple and right hand man. In fact Columna is vinified in the same winery were Sketch (the under the water wine) is produced. The goal in producing Columna is to showcase the purity of the Albariño grape in a 100% unoaked style from a unique micro-clime that produces richer fuller often more balanced Albariño wines.
