Washington was sultry and steaming last week. Really steaming. The heat index was 118 degrees one day, and the bugs weren’t even flying around streetlights at night. Dinner conversation at one point turned seamlessly from the debt ceiling to speculation about what sort of wine is served in Hades (we had some ideas, but it’s probably best not to go down that path).
There wasn’t a lot of respite from the heat out in the Potomac Highlands. But going out there was a good psychological break. We grilled some vegetables and fish for lunch, then hung out on the porch talking about matching wine to weather. It was my cue; I have definite ideas about these things. I filled a big galvanized bucket with ice and fished out the only three Albarinos I had in the cellar: two 2009s from Rias Baixas, a Pionero Maccerato and a Veiga Serantes; and, a harder to get (only 300 cases) local version, a 2008 Albarino from Chrysalis Vineyards in Middleburg, Virginia.
They were all just the thing. All really refreshing and a little racy. Light straw color, honeysuckle, melon, and lemon flavors, light to medium bodied, and great mineral notes. The Virginia wine, a vintage older, was still spright, and a little Viognier-like on the nose at first. The Veiga Serantes was the most vibrant and crisp of the three. The more we enjoyed our tipple, the more certain we became that these were all at least 90 pointers. So, we solved summer, but not the debt ceiling.
William McIlhenny is associate publisher of JamesSuckling.com. A former American diplomat and member of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff, he held a number of assignments in Europe and Latin America. He works in Washington, D.C.
