Two Beauties From Marqués de Cáceres

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Two Beauties From Marqués de Cáceres
Deusa Nai Albarino and Paco Rabanne Rioja Reserva are generous wines.
QRW Staff
L
ast summer ’s dog-day
doldrums were enhanced
by a snail grail search for
good white wines. If you’re like
us, your white wine palate needs
to be revived. Chardonnay and
Sauvignon Blanc have grown
mundane and tedious. Riesling
lacked sufficient satisfaction and
depth. Greek whites need more
charm and character. Sparkling
wine refreshes, but is too much like
Chardonnay to gratify. Ditto for
most of the whites from France —
Chablis, Mercurey, Pouilly-Fumé,
and Muscadet. Champagne — ah,
Champagne! — is the exception,
but it’s not for summer wassailing.
The wine that helped reinvigorate
our insipid dog days was one that
had slipped our mind: Albarino,
Spain’s most popular white wine and the country’s inexpensive
signature white. You need to try it, or to get better acquainted,
because Albarino is good and getting better. Only be sure you
buy quality Albarino, which has 100 percent Albarino from Rias
Baixas and which comes from a D.O. (Denomination of Origin,
a recognized wine area guaranteeing quality).
Quarterly Review of Wines, Autumn 2011
Albarino is from Galicia’s
Rias Baixas (ree-ahs buy-shuss)
district in the northwest
corner of Spain and abuts the
Atlantic Ocean. In ancient times,
Galicia was considered “land’s
end” and the inhabitants
regarded it the end of the world.
It’s a wine region associated
with pagans, with low hills and
mists and valleys surrounded
by Celtic legend. The climate
can be inhospitable — often
wet and cold in winter, and hot
a n d h u m i d i n s u m m e r.
Nonetheless, the indigenous
white Albarino grape, which
i s a t t r a c t i v e l y t re l l i s e d o n
pergolas, thrives in this climate
because it has a thick skin
and can tolerate the elements.
Albarino means “white wine on the Rhine” and was
brought to the area by the Romans more than 2,000 years
ago. It’s fishermen’s country, and people of the region
like to drink Albarino from cleaned conch-like sea shells,
which add aromas and minerality to its bracing acidity
and flavors.
Deusa Nai is pure Albarino: perfumed floral aromatics, nice earthy mineral notes, generous
melon, pear, and peach tones, with a whiff of lemon and lime.
2005 Marqués de Cáceres Paco Rabanne Reserva Special Edition . . . layers of mocha
and richer berry . . . unravel, and its complexity begins to unfold with a firm, delicious,
lasting finish.
Cristina Forner, President
There are some good Albarino about,
and, after a tasting of 15, we settled on
Deusa Nai from Marqués de Cáceres,
which is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
The winery has maintained a serious and
respectful profile in all its wine production.
Michel Roland, perhaps the world’s leading
wine consultant, has been advising the
winery for decades. Cristina Forner, the
no-nonsense president of the winery,
has a huge reputation for quality. For the
consumer Marqués de Cáceres has the
added luxury of being well distributed and
available in this country.
Deusa Nai is Marqués de Cáceres’ newest
wine. It speaks to the mythical tradition of
Galicia referenced above. It means “Mother
Goddess,” one who protects the earth’s
fertility. The initial production is small, only
6,600 cases, which isn’t surprising because
the entire Albarino region only makes two
million cases (by contrast, Rioja alone makes
more than 33 million annually). Deusa Nai
is characteristic Albarino upfront, but its
depth and elegance of finish (the essence
of any good wine) is uncharacteristically
fine and, frankly, surprising.
In tasting Deusa Nai or any Albarino,
expect an acidity reminiscent of a Riesling.
After that the comparison stops. The rest
of Deusa Nai is pure Albarino: perfumed
floral aromatics, nice earthy mineral notes,
generous melon, pear, and peach tones,
with a whiff of lemon and lime. As we said,
the Deusa Nai has unexpected complexity
and the finish has length. There’s style
here. Drink the wine now, although there’s
enough acidity to give it another year or
two of life. It’s priced right: $16.
2005 Paco Rabanne Reserva Special
Edition Marqués de Cáceres,
Rioja, $40. If you can get your hands on
a bottle of the 2005 Marqués de Cáceres
Paco Rabanne Reserva Special Edition
from the Rioja, then do so. Be advised: only
2,000 cases were made and of these only
50 cases came to the States (cases consist
of only six bottles). The wine is the stuff
of dreams. It’s from the magnificent 2005
vintage, one of Spain’s finest in a long time.
Just hearing the sound of this rich, textured
Tempranillo being poured into the glass
speaks of quality and serious drinking.
Dark ruby hues show a desirous density;
this is followed by arresting berry aromas,
with whiffs of oak and spice; medium
tannins say the wine is almost ready to
be consumed. Layers of mocha and richer
berry begin to unravel, and its complexity
begins to unfold with a firm, delicious,
lasting finish.
The bottle has a sexy looking black
and white label. It was designed by Paco
Rabanne, after whom the wine was named.
Rabanne was a part of the fashion world
and is known for his “metallic designs.”
He worked for Dior, Givenchy, Chanel,
and Balenciaga, and his designs have
made all the leading style magazines and
have appeared in movies, like “Two for the
Road.” He opened his own fashion house in
Paris in the mid-1970s and retired in 1999.
Cristina Forner, head of Marqués de Cáceres
and a fashion statement herself, invited
Rabanne to do the label for the limited wine
series (each bottle is numbered), which
speaks to the winery’s tradition (note the
coat of arms) and to its strength (note the
vigor of the MC). 
Quarterly Review of Wines, Autumn 2011