Happy Sunday Ops!

If you fancy yourself a fan of White Burgundy, aged Riesling, and top white wines made by rockstar winemakers, listen up!

You may remember last month’s utterly BEGUILING, charming, down-right “Mythical” white, yes?!

Made at Perliss, Mythical is back with a counterpoint to their stunning Albariño – their Moura RESERVE! Aged an extra year in Tuscan amphora for greater depth and concentration. Balancing complexity, power, and age-ability. Today for under $30!

At 93-points, with multiple critics agreeing that it’s only going to get better over the next five years… This is a MUST HAVE guilt free indulgence to stack deep in your cellar!

We truly love their mountain red. And the regular release of “Moura” white is truly unique – we simply don’t get many great Albariño our way. But THIS?! Total gamechanger!

First, Albariño! If you’re looking for whites to discover and have yet to fall in love with this Iberian treasure, lock in. BUT what even may wine professional miss is just how profound, complex, and age-worthy the Spanish white variety is. Especially when crafted by a master winemaker like Aaron Pott.

“It’s an especially dense, layered style of Albariño that emphasizes texture more than true varietal character. Even so, it’s a deeply intriguing wine.” explains Antonio Galloni of Vinous*

But truthfully, this wine is super avant-garde. Only a handful of producers, even in the variety’s home of Spain (like Eladio Pineiro, Pazo de Señoráns, Palacio de Fefiñanes, etc) engage in such extended aging before release like this wine does. They are exceptionally rare, and double the price (or more) of today’s offer.

And, to be honest, we’re not sure most critics really know what to make of them yet.

Who can blame them? As wine professionals, we were raised on pop-and-pour Albariño praised chiefly for its aromatic intensity and freshness. It’s clear in the reviews below that this is something more. Something different.

“Texture”, “mineral”, “layered”, “concentrated”,… the themes repeat themselves, clearly appreciating (as we did!) that this is SERIOUS white wine, built to last!

I guess what we’re saying is, in the same way a mere “93-point” White Burgundy can absolutely ROCK YOUR WORLD… well, prepare yourself.

So what’s the story here? Herbert Perliss purchased their Calistoga property 35 years ago, and, with Aaron’s help, he planted a minuscule 2.6-acre vineyard to power their wines. With such a small vineyard to source their estate wines from, Perliss Estate has expanded that vision under the direction of Herbert’s son, Anthony. Together, he and Aaron created the Mythical label to expand beyond their estate confines. They make just 3 wines - the Cab that has joined our short list of recent top-sellers, a lovely fresher-style Albariño, and this cutting-edge white beauty showcasing Albariño’s more serious side.

In the Portuguese/Galician dialects, Moura refers to mythical, enchanted women in Iberian folklore, and that name could not suit this wine better. The New York Times explains the two faces of Albariño, it can make either “a popular commodity wine: cheap, aromatic, easy to drink and forget” or SERIOUS interpretations from top winemakers that are “relatively expensive for Albariño… if you can find them, made in tiny quantities and snapped up.” Bingo, Mr. Asimov, and the latter style can be found in Lodi!

Wine rarely catches us by surprise. But this multi-faceted, weighty, expansive white works on so many levels. Where a majority of Albariño plays checkers, it’s clearly playing 3-D chess. Apricot, baked apple, dried and fresh flowers, crushed stones, orange oil, rooibos tea, cardamom, preserved lemon… we could go on!

Try it, and you’ll see – this puts many great whites triple the price to shame. You MUST experience it to believe.

The quality here is hardly a surprise, since it comes with the Perliss namesake. Theirs are wines you “obtain” rather than buy. Hard to get, extremely limited in production, and pricey. Aaron Pott is a huge reason for their success. Per Forbes, “In the world of winemaking, where passion meets precision, few names carry as much weight as Aaron Pott.” Known for his plush, sumptuous, expressive wines made under Greer, Seven Stones, Blackbird, and his own, he’s quite simply one of the best in the game. And making lesser-known varieties shine is one of his lesser-known superpowers!

For those in the know, finding ANY Pott-made small production gems is a prize. For this price? Rare as a giant pearl for little money. Believable as other myths like Medusa, King Midas, and the Minotaur…

Serious, complex, age-worthy white… and highly limited.

93 Points – James Suckling “There is a slight reduction underneath the golden-apple, sliced-pear and wet-stone aromas that lead to a textural, rounded mouthfeel with a fine line of acidity. This albarino spent an additional year in amphorae than the regular estate bottling from the same producer. Nicely balanced and full of fruit and minerals. Drink or hold.”

92 Points – Vinous “The 2023 Moura Reserve is 100% Albariño that spent ten months in amphora. It’s an especially dense, layered style of Albariño that emphasizes texture more than true varietal character. Even so, it’s a deeply intriguing wine. Lemon confit, marzipan, crushed white flowers and slate effortlessly fill out its ample frame. Drink 2025-2030.”

92 Points – Jeb Dunnuck “The 2023 Moura Reserva sees a slightly longer élevage in amphora and is more inward on the nose, with lemon curd and guava nuances intermixed with white flower notes. It’s medium-bodied, has a concentrated, yet layered, graceful, seamless mouthfeel, and a good finish. It’s another lively yet textured, concentrated Albariño that should evolve for 3-5 years or so. Drink 2025-2030.”