Picarana 2018

The white 2018 Picarana was produced with Albillo Real grapes from different organic, dry-farmed and head-pruned vineyards in the village of San Martin de Valdeiglesias. The vines are an average of 60 years old and are planted on different granite soils (white, pink and brown) at different expositions and altitudes ranging between 650 and 830 meters. It fermented in used oak and foudres built with French and Slavonian oak and matured with the lees in used 500- and 7,000-liter barrels and 1,500 and 5,000-liter oak foudres. To make fresher wines, they avoided maceration, pressing the whole clusters at very low pressure. The wine has 13.17% alcohol and a healthy pH of 3.35 for a grape that does not have much acidity; I find that the whites from 2018 are fresh—a far cry from the whites from 2013, when the cool year resulted in very ripe and wide whites. It has a smoky and spicy twist along with notes of fennel and white flowers and a palate that is marked by the granite. There is marked salinity on the finish, which is very tasty and long. The wine is harmonious and elegant, and it should develop nicely in bottle. I still need to rethink Albillo Real—it surprises me as people are learning to deal with it. This is one of the best-selling grapes from the winery. 10,340 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2019.