Marques de Monistrol Reserva Brut Rose Cava N.V.
Price $10
Rating 89
Crisp, clean flavors with citrus and nice limestone mineral, this sparkling wine possesses a beautiful color and a beautiful price.

Cava, a Spanish "sparkling wine", is a centuries-old tradition carried on in the northern areas of Spain. A Cava is created in the same manner as French Champagne. The grapes traditionally used for Cava - macabeo, xarello, and parellada - make Cava a light, white, fruity, perfumed wine. There are currently around 250 Cava producers in operation in Spain.

Margues de Monistrol Reserva Brut Cava N.V.
Price $10
Rating 86
With light, clean flavors with mild, citrus/floral and limited mineral, the great price allows this bubbly to be enjoyed often.

Marques de Caceres White, Spain 2002
Price $8
Rating 85
Soft flavors of melon and citrus/floral, a refreshing sip of Spanish white made exclusively from the Viura grape has elements of tart lemon and orange blossom. The crisp acidity makes it very food friendly.

Marques de Caceres Rose, Spain 2002
Price $8
Rating 87
Soft flavors of floral and citrus hints are in this pleasant rose (rhymes with "Oh-lay").

"So, what is rose and how is it different from White Zin? The pale White Zin is made from the California Zinfandel grape in the style of a white wine. Red Zinfandel grapes are pressed producing a 'free run juice' that has only light coloration from a brief contact with the grape’s skin. This process produces a light and fresh-tasting wine," says wine critic Bodo Eichler. "Roses are made from a number of red wine varietal grapes. In creating rose, the grapes are allowed to soak with the skins for one to two days. Then they are crushed and the juice drawn off or pressed, then fermented without the skins. This allows the winemaker to give his wine more complexity by bringing out the very best aspects of the grape variety chosen for his rose."

Morgadio Albariño, Spain 2002
Price $20
Rating 90
There are crisp citrus elements with bracing mineral notes. Albariño could be the finest white wine grape in Spain. The Morgadia, being one of the best, is exceedingly dry, light, fresh with a citrus zing, along with lime and apricot fragrances. Match this wine with cheeses, tapas and other light fair.

Pasanau "Les Myriams" Viognier, Priorat 2001 Price $25 Rating 88 With more of a Rhone approach to the flavor profile, there is very limited Viognier influence of the peach blossom. There are soft mineral and a delicate, roasted influences though.

An extreme, high altitude microclimate shapes this white wine. The mountainside soils for this particular vineyard are of gravel, inspiring Oscar Pasanau to plant Viognier in this traditionally red wine area of Priorat (doing so in 1996). 2001 is the first vintage from his very low-yielding vines. Pasanau employs partial barrel fermentation to add complexity.