Wine Tasting: Alternative Whites

The idea was to find a tasty, inexpensive, summer white wine that was not a chardonnay or sauvignon blanc. OK, so I threw in a few unusual picks, as well (white rioja! malvasia!). I'd say it was a big success. My favorites in bold.

1. Lamarca Prosecco $14 - with the blue label, commonly available. I learned that proseccos are made from a grape called glera. Who knew? I thought this one was totally outclassed by #2. WS 90 pts.
2. Deligeroy Cremant de Loire Brut $12 - French, from the Loire, a blend Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay & Cabernet Franc. Fantastic value in a bubbly (although I would probably still opt for a half bottle of champagne for roughly the same price), and K&L always keeps it in stock.
3. 2012 Domaine de Begrolles Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine sur Lie $10 - I think Muscadet (made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape) is a reliable value in French whites. This one was very nice, but outclassed a bit by #4 and #8, which had a bit more to them.
4. 2012 Niepoort "Docil" Loureiro Vinho Verde $12 - made from the Portuguese indigenous varietal Loureiro, this was my favorite of the evening and wins the honor of being my house white for the summer. Nicely balanced, offering both the crisp, refreshing character you want in a summer white, but also a bit of substance. RP 90 pts.
5. 2012 Weingut Allram Grüner Veltliner (1L) $11 - this was very nice, the kind of crisp summer white that the word "quaffable" was made for. Great value. A bit too simple when compared to #4 or #8, but I would be perfectly happy with this on a hot day.
6. 2011 Terzolo Malvasia Istria Croatia $16 - this one split the crowd, which is to be expected, since it was unusual. Much heavier, almost yeasty, this certainly qualified as interesting. I like it, but it's not really a "summer white."
7. 2004 Lopez de Heredia "Viña Gravonia" Crianza Blanco Rioja $28 - whoa. A single-vineyard Viura bottling from a very famous Rioja producer, this was barely recognizable as a white wine. Lots of oak and structure, thanks to 9 years of aging before it is even released to market. This one wins the "interesting" crown of the night.
8. 2011 Sartarelli Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi $9 - this was very nice, probably my second favorite after #4 in the "summer white" sweepstakes. And substantially cheaper!
9. 2012 Denner Vineyards Viognier, Paso Robles $38 - this was a bit unfair, the current release from the Denner vineyard. I thought it was quite good, with many of the floral luxuries of viognier, without being cloying, but hard to justify the price, given the competition.
10. 1989 Ch. Ste. Michelle, Late Harvest White Riesling, Columbia Valley - don't know much about this dessert wine, which was brought to a previous wine tasting (thank you!), but it was really lovely. Who knew this would last 25 years? I think the current version of this is the "Ch. Ste. Michelle Ethos Reserve Late Harvest White Riesling." I'll keep an eye out for it.