The Wines of This Week's Tasting:
Select Spanish Wines with Victor Ordonez
January 14, 2026
Vino Blanco
2024 Nisia Verdejo Rueda Old Vine Blanco
The wine is made from 100% Verdejo, unusually entirely from ungrafted vines, offering remarkable purity and authenticity. Old-school winemaking techniques used in barrel aging and lees contact make for a wine with vibrant acidity, inviting textures, and subtle complexity.
Aroma: Honeycrisp apple, melon, citrus blossom, brioche, and toasted fennel. Mouth: Crisp texture, pleasant acidity, good minerality, tropical fruits, and orange peel linger on a long saline finish. Very Good$18.99, Case $15.99
2024 Bodegas La Caña Navia Albariño
The 2024 La Caña Navia is both a classic and benchmark example of the Albariño grape. Some of the best fruit is sourced to produce this wine, and in the experienced hands of La Caña, the result in the bottle is an excellent expression of Albariño. A perfect white wine This is a highly versatile wine for seafood pairings. Aroma: Lemon zest, stonefruit, briny, flint, crushed almonds, pastry dough, chamomile, and Earl Grey tea. Mouth: Medium-bodied, crisp, vibrant acidity, peach, apricot, meyer lemon, pastry, good salinity, round texture, and pristine finish. Very Good -Excellent $36, Case $31
Vino Tinto
2021 Sierra Cantabria Rioja Crianza
A delicious old-school Rioja , this comes from the Eguren family’s attention to detail in the vineyard. Everything is done by hand with thoughtful organic farming practices, vine management, and harvest. Careful grape selection before and after destemming ensures the wine is produced with the best fruit possible.
Aroma: Intense cherry, plum, spice, coffee, and balsamic notes. Mouth: Medium to full bodied, polished tannins, good acidity with notes of dried cherries, black raspberries, spice, and Mediterranean herbs. Very Good Plus $22.99, Case $19.94
2022 Avancia Nobleza Old Vine Mencía
The fruit is sourced from some of the oldest vineyards in the Valdeorras, producing excellent-quality, concentrated fruit. This gives the wine an extraordinary richness and texture that will captivate all your senses. Pairs really hearty dishes made with veal, duck, or lamb, stews, and braises.
Aroma: Black cherry compote, pomegranate, Mediterranean herbs, peppercorns, toasted spice, deep and intense. Mouth: Medium body, structured tannins, developed fruit, rich concentration, spicy, fresh, lively, juicy for a balanced and complete finish. Excellent $41, Case $35
2022 Bodegas Breca ‘Breca’ Old Vine Garnacha Calatayud
Aragon in the north is the birthplace of the Garnacha grape which has spread around the world as Grenache, its French name There in the subregion, Catalayudt, Breca sources the original Garnacha from high-altitude, very old vineyards.Hand-harvested bunches gobelet-trained Garnacha are destemmed, and the whole berries are used for the best fruit quality. Both traditional and minimal intervention winemaking offer a truly authentic version of the wine.
Aroma: Dark cherry, black raspberry, black currant, olive tapenade, peppercorns, hints of Mediterranean spice, and hibiscus tea. Mouth: Rich, spicy, intense fruit, medium plus body, firm tannins, medium finish with a touch of spice. Very Good $21.99, Case $18.99
2020 Bodegas Teso La Monja Almirez
The grape is Tinta de Toro, the Toro region’s more robust expression of Tempranillo. The family vineyards are located in the northernmost part of the region, which has a much higher proportion of rounded stones that makes for incredibly silky, elegant wines. Winemaker Marcos Eguren, is considered by many to be one of the finest winemakers in Spain works with son, Eduardo. The 2020 Almirez is really accessible and fresh from the first glass to the last.
Aroma: The wine has aromas of anise, cassis, and black raspberry with a touch of toasted spices. Mouth: It has abundant, fine-grained tannins that provide a plush, velvety texture and spiciness, developing some mintiness with time in the glass. Rich ripe black fruit flavors and subtle floral tastes of dried lavender and crushed violet. Ending with a satisfying finish that offers soft notes of cherry and spice. Excellent-Outstanding $38, Case $32
Richard Harmer
Ordonez Spanish Case: two each of the wines $299
or mix any twelve at their case prices
Order by phone at 617.367.8605, or reserve here: order@federalwine.com
Please pass this on to any friends who are wine enthusiasts!
- Len Rothenberg
FREE DELIVERY!
downtown on orders more than $75;
in Greater Boston on orders more than $199
