Fillaboa Albario Rias Baixas

[Frank Deis]

A grad student who had taken my class gave me a bottle of this, the 2007. He had gone to Spain (his fiance is from the Basque country) and I think visited the Bodega.

Last night we ate out with a batch of friends for a late Chinese New Year or more accurately Tet since we went to a good Vietnamese restaurant that allowed BYOB. I took some Champagne and this wine. All of the people who are into wine remarked that it was impressive, with a nice herbal scent. I suppose I would say that the palate had more fruit than flint but I found it very enjoyable too.

It seemed to me that folks here might like this wine and be aware of it.

Do other people like it -- or to ask a related question, do you have a favorite wine from Rias Baixas? I've had a few that I really liked but they seem to change dramatically from vintage to vintage. A few years back I loved the Pazo Seorans so much that I bought a case -- and then had 12 disappointing bottles to drink up.

Frank

 

[Florida Jim]

Frank,
I enjoy Albario but have not found "the one" to buy every time.
Unless, of course, you include the Do Ferreiro, Cepas Vellas at somewhere north of $35. And that is not an every time price for me.
Best, Jim

 

[Dan Donahue]

I've had the Fillaboa from 4 different vintages and they were all enjoyable. I haven't opened any of my '07s yet.

I was also pretty impressed with the '04 Valminor and '04 Palacio de Fefinanes, especially given the reasonable prices. I tend to drink these fairly young so I'm not sure how the hold up beyond vintage plus 2-4. Nice match with Oriental food.

 

[Carl Steefel]

I thought the 2006 Pazo Senorans was very good, although the 2006 Do Ferreiro (not the Cepas Vellas) was even better, with a little more depth of fruit. I haven't tried the Do Ferrieiro Cepas Vellas...

 

[Saina Nieminen]

سلام, چطوری؟

We used to see Fillaboa here and I really enjoyed it, but sadly 2006 was the last vintage that was available. It was perhaps a slightly steelier style than Valmior (which we import). But with Valmior I do prefer their blend, Davila, to the varietal Albario. I was also hugely impressed by the Do Ferreiro's CV. These are annoyingly hard to find here, so I was deeply saddened that the Fillaboa was discontinued.

 

[VS]

I'll let the Fillaboa people know that Finland's crying out for their wines!

Very good estate, owned by the conscientious Masaveu family from Asturias. It's very rare in Galicia to find such a large (70 hectares) single estate: everything there is usually tiny vineyards, one here and the other there, whose grapes you have to blend. Fillaboa is just across the Mio/Minho river which marks the border between Spain and Portugal, and their highest vineyard (the aptly but boringly named Monte Alto) produces a very mineral cuve that's their answer to such other single-vineyard wines as Do Ferreiro's CV.

 

[Florida Jim]

originally posted by VS:
Fillaboa is just across the Mio/Minho river which marks the border between Spain and Portugal, and their highest vineyard (the aptly but boringly named Monte Alto) produces a very mineral cuve that's their answer to such other single-vineyard wines as Do Ferreiro's CV.

You are a wealth of information. Monte Alto it is.
Best, Jim

 

[Frank Deis]

originally posted by Otto Nieminen:
سلام, چطوری؟

سلام, من خوب است

Thanks for the information everyone, I have to find time for some wine shopping.

I sent this thread to the kind grad student (Erik) and maybe he'll try this place out.

I would love to have a couple of cases of good Albario at hand, yum!

Frank

 

[robert ames]

morgadio is top notch.

 

[Saina Nieminen]

Man khub ast? Not man khub-am? I knew I shouldn't have dropped out of my Farsi class, but why?

VS, if you think pressure at that end will get us a decent Albario at our end, please do let the people at Fillaboa know we miss their wines. (What I hate about the Finnish system is that it is practically impossible to legally drink Valmior's even though we import it, lol!).

 

[Frank Deis]

shrug?

I was lazy and put it into a translator, it sounded OK to me...

On the other hand I know -am is a first person ending, just not sure how it is used.

F

PS instead of Babelfish it was Babylon. Babelfish never heard of Farsi.

 

[Carl Steefel]

I used VS's notes on the 2006 in my wine buying (where I could find the wines). Seems to have served me well so far...

 

[Frank Deis]

originally posted by Otto Nieminen:
Man khub ast? Not man khub-am? I knew I shouldn't have dropped out of my Farsi class, but why?

FWIW I asked my neighbors, and you are correct Otto.

Otto Akbar!

F

 

[VS]

originally posted by Carl Steefel:
I used VS's notes on the 2006 in my wine buying (where I could find the wines). Seems to have served me well so far...

I'd say you've been extremely lucky, Carl - don't push that luck! :-)

 

[MarkS]

originally posted by VS:
I'll let the Fillaboa people know that Finland's crying out for their wines!

Very good estate, owned by the conscientious Masaveu family from Asturias. It's very rare in Galicia to find such a large (70 hectares) single estate: everything there is usually tiny vineyards, one here and the other there, whose grapes you have to blend. Fillaboa is just across the Mio/Minho river which marks the border between Spain and Portugal, and their highest vineyard (the aptly but boringly named Monte Alto) produces a very mineral cuve that's their answer to such other single-vineyard wines as Do Ferreiro's CV.

What a pretty estate! Looks a little Bordeaux-ish or like something from Tuscany (minus the forests, of course!). The note about blending different plots together and vintage variations that people have expressed make me wonder it they are tied somehow?

 

[Frank Deis]

originally posted by MarkS:


What a pretty estate! Looks a little Bordeaux-ish or like something from Tuscany (minus the forests, of course!). The note about blending different plots together and vintage variations that people have expressed make me wonder it they are tied somehow?

Here are a couple more images from Erik. Of course all vineyards look about the same in December. The Chateau is very distinctive though.

Frank

 

[Lee Short]

I've had a couple of vintages of Fillaboa in the past, and it's always struck me as pretty good value, if not up to the quality level of, say, Do Ferriero. I'll have to grab some this year.

 

[drssouth]

Thoughts about "Santiago Ruiz"??

 

[VS]

Santiago Ruiz was the creator of modern albario, back in the 1970s. Now the winery is owned by a big Rioja house. No great shakes any longer, but OK commercial albario.