Description

Santiago Ruiz O Rosal is one of the best Rias Baixas whites I have tried. It is a blend of 82% Albariño, 9% Loureiro, 4% Caíño Blanco, 3% Treixadura and 2% Godello. Wines from O Rosal like this Santiago Ruiz have to have a proportion of Loureiro in the blend.

As a wine, Santiago Ruiz is both aromatic and shy. It initially smells meaty and herbal with some celery salt. With air, Santiago Ruiz opens up and offers a lot more. The palate is viscous, green fruit, crystalline purity, chalk with tingly acid. There is a light phenolic grip and a slightly bitter finish.

Santiago Ruiz is a wine made to go with fresh and simple seafood. It is not a wine to age, though. Drink in over the next 36 months.

Santiago Ruiz O Rosal Rias Biaxas Albarino 2020, and all wines are eligible for at least 5% off any six bottles. And 10% off any 12 bottles. Some wines will be at a more significant discount and not subject to further discounts.

Ángel Ruiz was making wine from Rias Baixas in the 1860s. Angel’s grandson Santiago Ruiz was the first to sell the Estate wine in 1981 and earnt the nickname ‘The Father of Alberino’ for establishing the Rias Baixas D.O. in the late 1980s. Now, daughter Rosa is in charge of Santiago Ruiz. Rosa has put her stamp on Santiago Ruiz by crafting a 100% Albarino from old vines.

Santiago Ruiz is based at Tomiño in O Rosal—the southernmost, driest and sunniest part of Rias Baixas. The vineyards are hand-harvested, organic and biodynamic practices are used. Each variety is fermented separately with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel.

Santiago Ruiz O Rosal Rias Baixas 2020 Importer Tasting Note

“Simply, this is a lovely, invigorating, meadow-and-orchard-scented white. There’s subtle notes of white peach and apricot, green almonds and white flowers leading to a taut, mouth-watering palate flecked with a seaside briny quality that steals across the palate. A graceful and supple expression, this will pair well with everything from mussels to seafood tacos and even richer foods like salmon and pork.”

D.O Rias Baixas

Translates to ‘low rivers’, the best producers in this white only D.O make perfumed, elegant and textured wines with zingy acid that really sing with seafood. Situated on Spain’s West Coast just north of Portugal. There are three distinct sub-regions with O Rosal being the most notable. It is challenging viticulturally with humidity and damp encouraging rot and mildew.  But rewarding for those who get it right.

Albarino

Native of Galicia and the main grape of D.O Rias Baixas. It has neutral juice with high acid, but with the right persuasion, it can achieve great perfume and texture. The acidity is really the key to the wine, making it refreshing and cleansing.

Loureiro

A white grape that is most famous for being the backbone of Portugals Vinho Verde. It grows north of the border in Galicia too. Loureiro means laurel and is named for the smell of the berries. Loureiro tastes a lot like citrus, is light-bodied with high acid.

Treixadura

An important white grape for Portugal’s Vinho Verde. It is often blended with Albarino and/or Lourerio in both Spain and Portugal. Treixadura brings alcohol and body and tastes somewhat like Chardonnay.

Godello

An unheralded white for Galicia in Spain. It offers a wonderful silky texture and a beautiful array of sweet aromas. It is a variety that you do need to know.

Spain

Spain is probably more famous for the wines from the hot and dry parts. But the diversity of wine is equal to any country. And Spanish wine is a legitimate threat to the Australian wine market, with their dry-grown, old-vines able to produce the same quality as anything in Australia. If they were allowed to irrigate, they could release more wine at significantly less than any Australian equivalent.

The styles to try as a wine lover include Old school Rioja (leave them for 50 years, though, please!). Real Sherry, from Jerez, seriously try this stuff. Mencia from Bierzo and surrounds. Cava – if you thought Prosecco was poor man’s Champagne, well, good Cava makes Prosecco taste like Schweppes Mineral Water. And there are more amazing terroir wines across Spain.

Wine

Wine is the result you get from fermented grape juice. There is proof of wine production dating back 8000 years ago. Fashions, innovations and many other factors have influenced the way wine has evolved over the years.

The wine grape is impressive. It contains everything you need to make grape wine except for the yeast, which lives on the outside of the skins.

Human inputs can influence the final product, including the viticulture (growing) choices. And the winemaker can shape the wine to a point too.

The best wines of the world often refer to terroir. Terroir is a French term that refers to all the climatic, geological and topographical influences on a specific piece of land. And it is true that neighbouring vineyards, grown identically, can taste noticeably different.

White Wine

It is interesting to know that you can make white wine from almost any grape. The colour comes from the skins, and if there is no contact, there is no colour. White wines tend to be delicate, perfumed, higher in acid and lower in alcohol. It seems for this and many other reasons, it is hard to make an incredibly impressive white wine. But those that have mastered the art are indeed some of the best winemakers in the world.

It is a falsehood to think that white wine does not age as well as red wine. But it is correct that white wine, as a rule, doesn’t age for as long.

The Wine Depository

I, Phil, have been running The Wine Depository since 2011. The Wine Depository exists to make sure you are drinking the good wines. You can browse and pick what is interesting to you. Or you can make contact with me. I’ll make sure you get what you want, to your palate, to your budget and to your door.