Cheap Spanish white wines are often a crapshoot. Quality varies considerably from vintage to vintage and even solid producers seem to pay less attention than they should when the wines get made.
Which is why I didn’t expect much from the Ipsum (about $10, available at Central Market), a blend of verdejo and viura from northern Spain. Which goes to show why one must always taste the wine before judging. Ipsum, from the respected Ole Imports and made by Hermanos del Villar, was much better than I expected. It’s fruit forward (mostly citrus), but not overwhelmingly so. It has lots and lots of Spanish minerality, probably from the limestone that the grapes grow in.
Highly recommended, and a candidate for the $10 Hall of Fame. Serve chilled with chicken and rice, paella or just about anything with saffron.
