With hundreds of carefully curated bottles, Barcelona’s wine list could be New Haven’s longest.
Short of simply shrugging and pointing at something, the undecided wine drinker has to start by narrowing their options. They might, at a Spanish restaurant, decide to keep to Spanish wines—223 choices. Then, on a warm spring day, they might decide to stick to whites—54 options. Then, in the easiest choice of all for someone not yet ready to commit, they might home in on just the Spanish whites they can order by the glass: eight possibilities, conveniently available in full or half pours.
How to choose from there, though? Perhaps these fly-by tasting notes, presented in order of appearance on Barcelona’s by-the-glass menu, will help:
2024 Mila ($6/3oz)
Nose: Welch’s sweetness. Lemon acidity. Hint of musk.
Palate: Well-balanced. Musk is now assertive but not overly rich. Medium body. Easy to drink, with some dryness to slow it down. Nice sipper.
2023 Rezabal ($6.50/3oz)
Nose: Melon. Hint of lychee. Mineral quality.
Palate: No bubbles; effervescent anyway. Drier than expected from the nose. Drinks like an especially refined champagne.
2023 Menade ($6/3oz)
Nose: Wow. Papaya. Heavy musk that clarifies into waves of vanilla.
Palate: Vanilla bean and tropical fruit, but too light-bodied to satisfy the promise of the nose.
2023 Le Naturel ($5/3oz)
Nose: Cooked pear. Creamy vanilla. Buttery pastry, not overbearing. Could nose this all day.
Palate: Very different from the nose. Pear note is there on the edge somewhere, but otherwise it’s a citrus salad minus the zing.
2022 Pinord, Diorama ($4.75/3oz)
Nose: Ripe plum and sulfur, almost like a red. A light lemon meringue pie note when I really dig in.
Palate: Surprisingly different again. Light body. Lemon-squeezed salted honeydew. The honeydew note is about as subtle as, well, honeydew.
2022 B.R.O.T. Blanc Inicial ($6.25/3oz)
Nose: Beautiful. Cantaloupe crossed with strawberry.
Palate: Light to medium body. Fruity, but muted. Some edge on the finish that makes it a little more interesting.
2023 Orto Vins, Les Argiles ($6.50/3oz)
Nose: Grape mochi dusted with confectioner’s sugar.
Palate: Light body. Watery up front and only a little more elaborate in back. A mildly seductive oaky note emerges with time.
2020 Alvear, 3 Miradas ($6/3oz)
Nose: Whoa. Sweet balsamic vinegar. Funky overripe fruit. Citrus. Bread. An almost savory undercurrent. Potent and challenging, maybe not in a good way.
Palate: Similar to the nose but bucks even harder. Likely to satisfy only the most adventurous palates. Mellows a bit as I acclimate, but remains a wild ride from start to finish.
Written and photographed by Dan Mims.
