2017 Lodi Albariño - Thomas Allen Vineyards

Juicy green apple, sea salt, lemon wedge. White melon, bread crumbs, tangy lime candy. Simple daisies and orchard blossoms, crushed white pepper and coarse sand. Clean, bright, and straightforward fruit washes pleasantly over the palate, subtly expressing green grape and peachy flavors that are enjoyable yet relatively uncomplicated. A light floral tone makes its presence felt aided by a faint waft of sage, dried thyme, and hay. Slowly a delicate leesy note appears giving off just a hint of yeast and cheese rind that play beautifully with an interesting underlying streak of salinity. Medium bodied with barely medium plus acidity; inviting and ready for immediate consumption. This 2017 Lodi Albariño by Thomas Allen Vineyards & Winery is a lovely take on a wonderful Spanish white grape.

Lodi is one of California's oldest wine growing regions, yet despite well over 100 years of tradition producers here are not afraid of experimentation. This bottling, crafted by Thomas Allen Winery using Albariño sourced from within Lodi, is a fine example of a non-traditional grape finding success in this region. While clearly designed as an easy drinking wine this is not simply neutral or boring, rather it contains solid Albariño typicity complete with the wonderful salinity this grape is known for. Considering its extremely modest price tag and overall agreeability this wine is actually quite impressive, and would make a great choice to pair with seafood. Great effort here.