It is always an honour for us to receive credits of our work from prescribers which, together with the great acceptance that Arzuaga wines have, places us among the reference wineries all over Spain. But the truth is that the award we are talking about today is even more special. First of all, due to its origin, because it comes from one of the most consolidated, important and read guides both nationally and internationally: the Peñín Guide. But also, because this means a major confirmation of a new, personal bet and that implies a change in our winemaking.
In its 2020 edition Peñín Guide has chosen our 2007 Arzuaga Albillo as a Newcomer Wine, assessing it with 98 points as well. Such an honour for us! In the guide itself, they emphasise that “never before an albillo wine had obtained 98 points and this has been achieved thanks to its utmost complexity and balance”. For Bodegas Arzuaga it is really a pride that among nearly 12,000 wines tasting in Peñín Guide they have chosen our Albillo as a Newcomer Wine.
What is more, on its website, from Peñín Guide they are even blunter stating that “it is the only and the best representation of the ageing capacity of the albillo mayor variery”. And we cannot forget this is a wine of the 2007 vintage that began to be marketed last year. That is, after 11 years of ageing, more than seven of them in barrels. It should be noted that this wine is a single-variety albillo that responds to the concern that has always characterised Arzuaga, the desire to innovate and improve ourselves. On its winemaking, we have obtained the highest quality, discarding those barrels that do not meet our standards of excellence.
When we focus on their tasting, from the Guide they point out that “Arzuaga Albillo 2007 is a complex, exuberant wine with ageing signs since we serve it in the glass. Golden coloured that does not hide its ageing, it is intensely aromatic, with fine hints of chocolate, phosphorus, incense, spices and bitter orange peel. It has a very interesting oxidative hue, which in the mouth becomes more present and perfectly combines with a strong bitterness and excellent acidity”.
In Arzuaga we have been betting on the albillo variety for years, so much so that in elaboration of some of our reds we use a small percentage of this grape, that quickly reaches a good ripening without losing its acidity. In the case of this white, the fact is that it was a very pleasant surprise to see how this was maintained when we were tasting from the barrel.
A new bet of Arzuaga that begins in the best possible way. Cheers!