Yo hago lo que me da la gana—like drink white wine in the winter. Last weekend, while the rest of the country was covered in snow, I enjoyed a crisp day outside in my shorts (sorry to rub it in) with Quinta de Couselo’s Turonia Albariño 2018.
This wine comes from the Rías Baixas appellation (La Denominación de Origen Rías Baixas), a small wine-growing area in north-west Spain, in the region of Galicia. The winery is located in the O Rosal Valley, which is bordered to the south by the Miño river and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean. The land benefits from the microclimate created by the Atlantic influence—mild temperatures, abundant rainfall, and the right amount of sunshine for grape ripening.
We can thank monks for this wine. Quinta de Couselo winery was initially acquired in 1163 by Cistercian monks belonging to Oia Monastery. The monks’ interest to extend their properties in the O Rosal Valley was based on their discovery of the great potential for wine production in these lands.
Geeky technical stuff ahead: The vineyards have sedimentary soil, which is loamy, rich in organic matter, acidic and deep. They manually harvest the grapes in boxes of 15Kg and immediately transport them to the winery, where the grapes are temperature controlled in a cold room at a 41 degrees Fahrenheit. They select grapes on a vibrating table cluster by cluster. They destem and macerate whole grapes before pneumatic pressing for two hours, and then separate the musts. They static rack and ferment at controlled temperature. They age on fine lees for six months and stabilize in stainless steel until it reaches maturity for bottling.
The wine was pale yellow in color with a fleck of green. It had a medium nose with floral notes, lemon, pear, and apple. It was dry, light to medium bodied, with medium plus acidity and a medium finish. It tasted of green apple, citrus, peach, almond, and minerality/salinity. A really bright, well-balanced, and delicious wine—especially for the under $15 price point at Costco. I paired it with some homemade calamari pasta.
