Acid is your friend.

2007 Benito Santos Albariño Viñedo de Xoan, Rias Biaxas (Ree-yas Bye-Shas), Spain - from José Pastor Selections



Had this with calamari and cod from the local fish market.

Jose Pastor is the importer of this wine, who you'll hopefully hear more about in the future. This is a "Natural Wine", meaning (here's the Cliff's Notes version) this is a wine produced with minimal intervention in all aspects of wine-making, from using indigenous yeasts, and also using several organic methodologies from farming to production.

The term "natural wine" is currently a hot topic with wine geeks because the official definition is still being discussed and yet to be agreed upon. I think the goal of natural wine, is to use natural farming and wine-making practices that produce wines reflecting the soil and the weather where the grapes were grown. There are different philosophies and not everyone agrees at which point a winemaker intervenes, and to what degree. Hence, the controversy.
Anyhow, back to the wine...

Light-golden color with the faintest bit of spritz. Smelling a sea salt briny goodness, and lemon. Good acid! If you are new to wine: Don't be afraid of acid! It makes having food and wine together a joy, gives a 'zip' (for lack of better words) to the wine that you'll appreciate and love, and acid plays a big role in allowing a wine to age.

If I had to describe this wine in one word: Exhilarating. Going back to ask, "What was that?" I detect lemon, sea water, peach pit, and on the finish: more lemon with a kind of cheddar (?huh?). Re-tasted on the 3rd day and still drinking well. Love this. An extremely interesting wine which I don't think I'll tire from, and I can't wait to try this again.