Birichino Malvasia Bianca 2010

Birichino
Malvasia Bianca 2010
Monterey County, California
$26-30 +880302 available at select private liquor retailers
www.birichino.com  

I can’t look at this wine without thinking about spring. It’s not just the visually striking, mysterious tropical Asian influenced floral label. Nor the sprightly sounding winery name – Birichino [biri-kino], Italian for impish or mischievous. Not even for the wine’s sunny beginnings, up on a bench on the western edge of the Salinas Valley in Monterey County, where the ancient Italian Malvasia grape excels in the warm and bright sunlit days and cool nights.

It’s for the striking aromatics – bracing herbal, crystalline mineral and exotic floral notes. Jasmine, chamomile, lime peel and sweet pear lure you into a dry and crisp palate that harkens hazy images of Greek ruins. Fresh perfumed quince, lemongrass, blossom honey, spice and energetic acidity intrigue with each sip and make for a perfectly roguish bottle. Coconut-based curry or seafood soup would swoon for a glass of this.

Owners and winemakers Alex Krause and John Locke aim to “attain the perfect balance of perfume, poise, and puckishness” and they’ve aced it here. Both Krause and Locke worked for years with Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyard, and the playful precision of Grahm’s engaging empire is echoed here.

89 Points