Do Whites Age? Lopez de Heredia and Chateau Musar

Ok, so my last post on aging dry white wines was pretty lame - after all those whites barely four and five years old. Big deal? Fine, here's some really old s%$t - a 21 year old Rioja, and a "youthful" 9 year old from Lebanon...

The 1989 Lopez de Heredia Rioja (white) Dark, dark amber amber in the glass...dusty, minerally, on the nose...papaya, dried apricots and fresh lemons in support. Youthful, with crisp citrus and creamy almond - surely the vintage on the label is a typo? Terrific structure, elegant and complex with a terrific finish. Vintages has a few more bottles on line (and for $4 less than I paid) - buy some.
cork. 12% alcohol
Score: 18/20
Price: C$59 (LCBO)

The 2001 Chateau Musar (white) was more yellow gold, visually not showing its age despite nine years in the bottle. But it was more oxidized on the nose, with almonds and melted caramel, buttery. Softer, creamier on the palate with luxurious, spicy (nutmeg) finish - terrific, if only slightly less structured than the Lopez de Heredia above.
cork. 12% alcohol
Score: 17.5/20
Price: C$35 (LCBO)

Wow, what an education - astonishingly good, well-aged, dry whites from Spain and Lebanon - and surprisingly affordable! I'm going to clear some place in the cellar..

(PS - I have to thank Neil for plugging the Lopez de Heredia - if it weren't for him I would never have responded to this recent Vintages offering...cheers, Neil)

Do White Wines Age? An '05 and '06 from Rioja

Do dry white wines "age"? The answer is yes, of course - any wine book will tell you that certain whites can improve with some quality time in the cellar.

But who actually gets to taste aged dry whites? Recall your last trip to your favourite resto - how long was the 'vintage white' section? Probably didn't have one. Did the sommelier recommend a five or ten year old white "from their cellar"? Probably not. And chances are that your buddy with that 4000 bottle cellar only has a few sweet German wines in his/her "white" section (if there any white wines at all).

So this mythical wine - the Well-Aged Dry White - became a bit of a quest for me a few years back. Realizing that the wine shops and restaurants would not satisfy this curious corner of my wine mind, I made a concerted effort to squirrel away some whites - Aussie, German and Alsatian Rieslings, some Chablis, some Champagne, and tonight's two bottles of Spanish Viura...

The 2005 Palacios Remondo Placet started all funky, seemingly tired and past its peak, but wow - did this ever open up - dried apricots, dark caramel, butter cream, canned pears and guava, some almonds and floral/soapy notes. The first sip mirrored the first nose - tired, past its prime - but as it opened some tangy citrus and minerality showed up, revealing tremendous finish and persistency for old wine ... wow, she's still got it! Even more impressive, it tasted better on day 2 and day 3.
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 18/20

The 2006 Palacios Remondo Placet barely showed any sign of age - crisp and fresh from the get go, adding funky papaya, soapy floral, citrus peel and quince. Notably minerally on the palate, with tasty bitters, difficult to find a more delicious, smooth, and complex white - with enough acidity and minerality to indicate that it is nowhere near its peak.
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 18/20

There is no doubt that a few years in the JoeCave did not harm these wines, with the '05 gaining nuance and '06 seemingly newborn. And Palcios Remondo has made a tremendous case for Rioja whites from the Viura grape.

But four or five years is not "age" - for that you have to wait for my notes on a 20 year old white Rioja...

(both were impeccably paired with a homemade seafood paella)

2006 Placet

Over the past two or three years I started to put a few whites aside in my cellar for aging - mostly German whites and a few Chablis, but I have also set aside some oddities as an experiment.

I wouldn't think to age a white Rioja, but a tasting with Marcus gave me the idea to cellar this 2006 Palacios Remondo Placet. A gorgeous nose of creamy golden butter, white flowers, hints of citrus, banana and papaya, citrus peel, some grassy woodsy notes. The beauty continues on the palate, complex, flavourful and tremendously well balanced, with a soft, luscious finish. While this is not yet "old", it is aging well and I have one more bottle for a future redo
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 18/20
Price: C$29.95 (SAQ)

2007 Borsao, White and Red

I made a number of suggestions for party wine in a recent post, but you could do much worse than these inexpensive, widely available, Spanish offerings:

The white, the 2007 Borsao Seleccion Joven, hails from the Campo de Borja appellation, a Spanish appellation best known for Garnacha but with many authorized varietals including Tempranillo, Mazuela, Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, Macabeo, Chardonnay and Moscatel - this white was 100% Macabeo (Viura). Very creamy, with some white flower and green, earthy notes. Very smooth, luscious, and balanced with no rough edges, impressive at this price.
plastic cork. 13% alcohol
Score: 13.5/20
Price: C$13.15 (SAQ)

The red, a 2007 Borsao (Campo de Borja) is a blend of Grenache (70%), Syrah (20%) and Tempranillo. A nose of dark berry fruit, tart and cedary, with some smokey and leathery notes. Light bodied, with mild tannins and oaky crisp fruit, but not overoaked. A bit awkward and unbalanced at first but it softened over evening. Enjoyable, but not memorable, a decent pour at this price. I wonder how this would stack up to these Portuguese treasures (1,2) in a blind tasting?
plastic cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 13/20
Price: C$11.65 (SAQ)

Both of these were simple, but simple is not a criticism - at this price point what I really look for is a wine that is flourful with no"rough edges", and these delivered. Great for a party!