Ponce Albilla Selección 2023

The second vintage of the top-of-the-range white is the 2023 Selección Albilla, which showed less impact from the oak than the debut year, as this time the barrels were not new. The blend is slightly different in 2023, 60% Albilla from granite soils and 40% from limestone soils, but it's produced in a similar way: fermented in 600-liter barrels and 750- and 1,000-liter foudres, where the wine matured for 11 months. It has 13% alcohol, a pH of 3.1 and 6.6 grams of acidity and comes through as fine, pure, crystalline and bone dry. The oak is much better integrated; there are some toasty notes in the background; and there are some faint flavors and a bit of tannin that will welcome some more time in the bottle. 4,200 bottles were produced when it was bottled in August 2024.