2017 Marimar Estate Albarino Don Miguel Vineyard Russian River Valley 750 ml

From now on, spring and summertime whites need to be as elegant as they are deliciously crisp and thirst-quenching. From now on, spring and summertime whites need weightless depth and genuine personality. From now on, all spring and summertime whites will be judged against Marimar Estate’s Don Miguel Vineyard Albariño. 

We’ll get off our soapbox now, but hear us out. Marimar’s Albariño is bursting with all the Meyer lemon vibrancy, juicy peach purity, and lime zest that you could ask for on a hot summer’s day, but there are also subtle lines of wet stone, garnishings of jasmine and lemongrass, and streaks of sea-spray salinity that take this to a whole new level. 

Of course, we know that gems like this are few and far between. We’ve been clamoring to get an allocation of Marimar’s sunny Albariño for years and have only just managed to crack the cellar open. The high demand is no surprise given who is at the helm of the operation: the legendary Marimar Torres. 

The only daughter of Miguel Torres, Spain’s equivalent to Robert Mondavi, Marimar grew up surrounded by wine, but was never supposed to follow in her father’s footsteps—in Spain in the ‘50s, women were hardly supposed to leave the house, let alone become industry icons. However, her precociousness and talent proved unstoppable. Marimar found a home in California in the ‘70s while promoting Torres wines and later purchased a 56-acre property in Russian River Valley. Her first wines debuted to great critical acclaim in 1991, and she hasn’t looked back since. 

The 2017 Albariño is a nod to Marimar’s origins, sourced from the estate’s home vineyard named for her father, Don Miguel. In Green Valley, the southwestern sub-AVA of Russian River Valley, the chilly micro-climate is very similar to Spain’s Rias Baixas, Albariño’s native home. 

Just ten miles from the Pacific, the meticulously tended vineyard is cooled by morning fog and kept dry by maritime breezes, a one-two punch that preserves mouthwatering acidity, crystal clear fruit purity, and dramatic freshness in the wine. 

For lovers of unoaked, crisp Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and aromatic whites generally, this will be a revelation—especially next to a dozen oysters or pan-seared scallops. For those with the audacity to ask more of your spring and summertime whites, this is what you’ve been waiting for. Here’s to a wine that delivers true excitement, at no extra cost.