Caliberico: A Wine Geek's White Blend...That Rocks.

Last month my friend Luis Moya sent me some wines to sample. You might not know Luis but if you are on Twitter and follow wine people, you really should follow him. In addition to having an awesome first name (that I share, in the French version), Luis owns an import and distribution company called Vinos Unico that brings in some of the most interesting and unique wines from Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Arizona!!, and California. He's passionate and a genuine good guy in this business.

Out of the samples he sent, the 2010 Caliberico White from Urbanite Cellars was the first one I sampled. The occasion: none at all. I wanted a light, thirst quenching white wine and reached for the Caliberico right away. A blend of 47% verdelho, 35% albarino, and 18% torrontes, you could say that this wine brings together Spain, Portugal, and Argentina's more well known white varietals in the Lodi AVA.

My first impressions for the nose went like this: "Smells light, fruity but focused. Nice grapefruit and kiwi aromas with some white flower and wet rock balancing things out. Interesting and aromatic, hard to keep my nose out of the glass. I can't wait to sip this wine!"

At first sip, I marveled at the bright acidity and how it immediately made the Caliberico feel so friendly and fun. The wine was practically weightless on my palate at first, but then developed a beautiful texture of citrus and tropical fruit flavors along with some ripe apricot. Before any of those could overwhelm the mouthfeel and turn the wine into a gloppy mess, a streak of minerality powered through each fruit flavor to wrap this wine up in a tight little package.

I asked Luis what the price was, figuring for all this deliciousness he wouldn't charge much. I was right, and at a suggested retail of $15 a bottle, it's a steal. While the 2010 Caliberico hasn't made it to retail shops here in San Diego (for shame!), it's readily available in Northern California as well as the East Coast. If you have any questions, contact Urbanite Cellars and they'll get you a quick answer. I do hope you check out this wine and show some love to a guy from Cuba who came to the USA for a better life, then went out and made that better life happen.

This wine was sent as a media sample for review purposes.

Beau Carufel