INSIDER'S PICK: 2020 MARFIL PANSA BLANCA 'IVORI' ALELLA $16.99

New vintage, new look, and complete rebranding, but same Pansa Blanca wine in the bottle as we've had in the store for previous years. Pansa Blanca, in case you were wondering (and most of you were, like we were when we first came across this wine), is the local name for the Xarel-lo grape in Alella just North of Barcelona. The vast majority of the Penedes region where Cava is made sits South of the city, with Alella separated by the sprawl of the metropolitan area, so much so that the grapes have had time to evolve slight differences in the two areas. Much like the reds from Montalcino in Italy are made with their own identifiable 'clone' of Sangiovese, wineries in Alella feel their Pansa Blanca is different than regular Xarel-lo, and look to feature it as such, especially in still wines like this one. Though the region has lost acreage over recent decades due to urban sprawl up the Northern coastline, the appeal for the wines has grown with the general popularity of lower alcohol wines. A rich golden color in the glass and vibrant lemony first aroma are pure Catalonian sunshine, with lots more citrus and white fruits emerging as it opens up.The palate has a clean, wet quality to the fruit, but still very full and refreshing with a little hit of minerality and skin tannin dryness to the finish. A great lighter seafood accompaniment, in the same vein as coastal Italian or the many fun Greek whites.

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