Alalá 2018

The most important wine and the reason for this project is the 2018 Alalá, a complex, long-aging Albariño they want to release with some time in bottle, as they want to show how Albariño can age. So, this wine is the one that showcases their philosophy. It was foot trodden and fermented in stainless steel and two used 300-liter oak barrels. It was kept for about 10 more months in vat after the fermentation finished, and the bottles are kept for a further two years until they are released. It has notes of moss and wet river stones, balsamic, herbal and more tertiary notes, achieved with time in bottle. It has moderate alcohol, 13%, and notable acidity that makes it vibrant. They have been fine-tuning this wine since they started making it in 2018. It's tasty and has great depth complexity. Rosa Pedrosa, the winemaker here, compares it with 2015 but with the added experience. I think this is their finest vintage to date, a wine with less warmth than 2017, with great balance that should make it long lived. 5,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2019.