Grapes of Spain

Score	Publication	Review	Copy
92	Vinous Media	Light, bright gold. Fresh and incisive on the nose, displaying intense orchard and pit fruit scents and a tangy suggestion of lemon zest. Chewy and taut in the mouth, offering bitter lemon and pear skin flavors and a bracing mineral flourish. Finishes long and precise, with recurring citrus fruit character and lingering mineral and floral notes. Drink 2019-2023 Spain’s Northern Regions Keep it Cool – March 2019
91	Wine Enthusiast	Orange and blanched almond aromas are light and lucid on the nose. This is citrusy and ripe on the palate but not heavy. Citrus and melon flavors are a touch leesy, while this is steady and well-balanced fresh, rounded finish. #84 - Top 100 Wines of 2018
91	View from the Cellar	The 2017 Albariño “Essencia Diviña” from Adegas Gran Vinum is happily sealed under natural cork and is a step up in terms of precision and roundness. The bouquet is bright and classy, wafting from the glass in a blend of tart orange, lime blossoms, ocean breeze, lovely minerality, dried flowers and a hint of gentle leesiness. On the palate the wine is vibrant, fullish and beautifully detailed, with a good core of fruit, zesty acids and lovely focus and grip on the long, complex and gently briny finish. This is first class Albariño! 2019-2030+. Issue #78 - November/December 2018

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Esencia Divina Albariño 2018

92 (I-WR) 91 (W&S) 89 (VfC)

Score	Publication	Review	Copy
92	International Wine Review	The 2018 Essencia Divina Albariño is a 100% Albariño crafted from estate grown fruit. Made from only free run juice, it is rich tasting with great intensity of flavor and mouth filling with a silky texture. Aged 3 months in tank on the lees, it reveals a chalky mineral character with medium acidity. Still young and will evolve to greater heights. "Spanish Wines of Value and Quality" - June 20, 2019
91	Wine & Spirits Magazine	This wine's zesty, granitic acidity and cool, smoky orange scents conjure a range of foods. Tina Vaughn of NYC's The Simone suggested "raw fish, or a terrine of whitefish, or mackerel poached in wine. Crab or scallops would love it. Or softshell crab with capers, lemon and brown butter." "Year's Best Galician Wines" - August 2019
89	View from the Cellar	The 2018 “Esencia Diviña” from Adegas Gran Vinum is a lovely example of Albariño. The bouquet is bright, briny and complex, wafting from the glass in a mix of apple, lime blossoms, salty soil tones, a touch of wild fennel and a topnote of candied citrus. On the palate the wine is crisp, full-bodied and nicely focused, with a good core of fruit, lovely balance and grip and a long, salty and zesty finish. This is good juice, with plenty of stuffing at the core. 2020-2025+. Issue # 85 - January/February 2020

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Esencia Divina Albariño 2019

94 (WRO) 91 (VfC) 91 (WB) 90 YB (W&S) 90 (WE)

Score	Publication	Review	Copy
94	Wine Review Online	This producer’s entry-level bottling of Albariño, “Mar de Viñas,” is so good that it prompts the question: How could this fruit have failed to make the cut for the top wine of the house? If you taste “Mar de Viñas,” you’ll understand immediately why that’s a compelling question, and if you taste this right afterward, you’ll get a compelling answer. Broader, richer, deeper and even more persistent, but with excellent focus despite its relative opulence, this is flat-out great Albariño. It displays subtle but expressive aromas that become ever more detailed as the wine warms in the glass, and the palate performance is every bit as impressive, with perfectly ripened fruit and excellent acidity and minerality that’s impeccably interlaced with the fruit. A completely convincing rendition of Albariño, which is arguably the world’s best and most versatile vinous partner for seafood. Michael Franz - July 2020
91	View from the Cellar	The 2019 “Esencia Diviña” from Adegas Gran Vinum had also just landed in the US prior to the release of this article, so it was quite enjoyable to compare it to the 2018, which I covered in the last issue. Like the 2019 Nessa bottling, this is still a young and exuberant example of Albariño, but with plenty of undertow of complexity to come with a few more months in bottle. The bouquet is floral and beautifully ripe and precise, jumping from the glass in a mix of pear, lime, a touch of wild fennel, a good base of soil and a potpourri of white flowers in the upper register. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, crisp and focused, with an excellent core, good backend mineral drive, snappy acids and impressive length and grip on the nascently complex finish. Tasting this right on the heels of the very good 2019 Nessa just further underscores how the texture here under natural cork is superior to screwcap, as there is more roundness, while not sacrificing any of the cut and grip. This is lovely Albariño and an outstanding value! 2020-2030+. Issue #86 - March/April 2020
91	Washington Wine Blog	The nose screams salty terroir as loads of melon, saline drenched peaches and shades of Marcona almond all enter the fray aromatically. The palate has sterling tension and gobs of mouth-watering acidity that really meld nicely with the gooseberry, kiwi and salted melon tones. Drink 2020-2024. Dr. Owen J. Bargreen, CS - July 2020
90 YB	Wine & Spirits Magazine	Tangy and bright, this wine needs a splash in a decanter to meld its chalky acidity and rich lemon flavors. Its initial spritziness diminishes as the structure integrates, delivering a powerful citrusy white with spicy lees notes that last. Ready for any roast fish. Year's Best Galician Wines; August 2020
90	Wine Enthusiast	Apple aromas along with a touch of brine lead a fresh nose. This feels perfectly healthy, with pulpy fruit and zesty acidity meeting on the midpalate. Citrus, apple and a dash of green herbs comprise the flavor profile of this well-made Albariño MICHAEL SCHACHNER - February/March 2021

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Esencia Divina Albariño 2020

92 (VM) 91 (W&S) 90+ (VfC)

Score	Publication	Review	Copy
92	Vinous Media	Vivid, green-tinged straw. Fresh citrus and orchard fruit scents, along with chalky mineral and ginger overtones. Conveys a suave blend of concentration and energy to the juicy Meyer lemon, pear skin and honeysuckle flavors. A hint of tarragon emerges with air and lingers on the very long, lively, focused finish. All stainless steel. 2021 – 2025 Josh Raynolds - June 17, 2021 Atlantic Spain: It’s Always About the Weather…
91	Wine & Spirits Magazine	Pale tangelo yellow in its flavors, this is a salty, yeasty white that packs cool fruit into a brisk citrus finish. Pour it with oysters or clams on the half shell. Joshua Greene - August 2021
90+	View from the Cellar	The Esencia Diviña bottling of Albariño from Gran Vinum is made from fifty year-old vines, grown on granitic and sandy loam soils. The wine is fermented in stainless steel and given three months of aging on its fine lees. The 2020 offers up a fine nose of fresh-squeezed lime, pear, spring flowers, salty soil tones and a touch of beeswax in the upper register. On the palate the wine is bright, bouncy and full-bodied, with a good core and soil signature, zesty acids and a long, succulent and complex finish. This bottling is made for immediate gratification and the 2020 version is delicious right out of the blocks. Lovely Albariño! 2021-2027.” John Gilman; Issue #92 - March/April 2021

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Esencia Divina Albariño 2021

93 (WRO) 92 (OB) 91 (VfC) 90 (WE)

Score	Publication	Review	Copy
93	Wine Review Online	Despite having made multiple trips to Rias Baixas, I’ve never enjoyed the opportunity to visit this bodega in order to learn how such exemplary consistency is achieved across the various releases from Adegas Gran Vinum every year — or how they worked up the nerve to give a wine this name. In any case, this is awesome juice that makes the name seem somewhat less audacious, with significantly more richness, depth of flavor and persistency of finish than the other new 2021 releases. As the wine warms and opens in the glass, it reveals a hint of tropical fruits alongside the core of pitted fruits (reminiscent of nectarines and apricots). The factor of serving temperature is worth revisiting, as this wine definitely gets better as it warms, whereas showing wines cold to cover flaws is a very old sales trick. No tricks needed here, and no flaws, either. This would be a killer pairing for shellfish, but more broadly, also for almost any seafood dish not involving a tomato sauce. Substantial but refreshing, this is already terrific but destined for another few years of improvement. Michael Franz – February 15, 2022
92	OwenBargreen.com	The outstanding 2021 Esencia Divina Albarino comes from 50 year old estate vines. The wine was aged for three months on the lees in stainless tanks before bottling. Very stony and sandy once on the mouth, this shows off its smooth texture with bright mango and melon fruit flavors. Enjoy over the next several years. Drink 2022-2027. Owen Bargreen - July 20, 2022
91	View from the Cellar	I love that the winery is now making magnums of their entry level Albariños available in the American market (please see below). The 2021 Esencia Diviña bottling shows a bit more depth on both the nose and palate than the fresh as a daisy Nessa bottling in this vintage, jumpingfrom the glass in a fine aromatic constellation of lime, tart pear, lemongrass, salty minerality, agentle touch of leesiness from some aging on its fine lees and a topnote of Chablis-like straw tones. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, focused and shows good mid-palate depth, withlovely acids and grip, fine focus and a long, complex and very well-balanced finish. Another fine, fine value. 2022-2030+. John Gilman – Issue 98 March-April 2022
90	Wine Enthusiast	With aromas of Bartlett pear, toasted almond and toffee, this wine offers opening flavors of Granny Smith apple and lychee that wash across the palate before being joined by notes of hazelnut and thyme. It has good mouthfeel that drops away into a soft finish. Mike Desimone - August/September 2022 Issue

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Esencia Divina Albariño 2022

93 (WRO) 93 (OB) 92 (VfC)

Score	Publication	Review	Copy
93	Wine Review Online	It takes something like real...um, self-confidence to name your winery “Gran Vinum” and then release — as your 2nd tier wine — a bottling called “Esencia Divina.” This is not a criticism, nor is it an accusation of arrogance, for the simple reason that these wines deliver on their names, which is no small feat (and they do it in less-than-stellar vintages, too). This is not quite up to the “Grand Vin” of Grand Vinum’s “Selección Especial” in terms of physical weight, nor is it quite as classy, as it shows more tropical notes and overall flamboyance, whereas the Selección Especial” shows the weight and restraint of, well, a great Sumo champion. Still, this is more in line with regular consumer expectations even though the wine is way, way better than the norm, and at a price lower by $10, it will be the better choice for many buyers, if not the better wine by overall critical standards. Still conspicuously rich, with lightly floral aromas followed by impactful flavors of ripe peaches, mangoes and baked apples, this is very substantial and satisfying, but still pure in flavor and finish, with enough acidity to invite sip after sip. Excellent, period. Michael Franz - Oct 17, 2023
93	OwenBargreen.com	2022 Esencia Divina Albarino- A truly great wine out of the Gran Vinum collection, the 2022 Esencia Divina Albarino was sourced from vines roughly 50 years of age. Stored on the lees in stainless tanks before bottling, this has wonderful saline drenched melon and citrus fruit tones on the palate, displaying serious tension and flavor density. Finishing very long, this is quite simply and incredible wine that will drink well for another eight years to come. Drink 2023-2031 Owen Bargreen - October, 2023
92	View from the Cellar	The 2022 “Esencia Divina” from Adega Gran Vinum is a lovely bottle of Albariño. The bouquet is bright and precise, hopping from the glass in a complex mix of fresh lime, green apple, salty minerality, a gentle touch of leesy tones, orange peel and a floral topnote redolent of citrus blossoms. On the palate the wine is vibrant, full-bodied, focused and complex, with fine depth at the core, lovely mineral undertow, zesty acids and a long, beautifully balanced finish. Though this is one of the entry level bottles from Gran Vinum, it is made from vines that are fifty years of age and the old vine depth is very much evident in this fine 2022 version! 2023-2033. John Gilman - Issue #105 May/June 2023.

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