![2023 Albariño](/assets/images/products/pictures/2-PCDKWE.png)
2023 Albariño
- 100% Albariño
- 12.9% ABV
- 9 months neutral French oak
- Rocklands Estate
- 750 ML
- Descriptors: ripe pear, kiwi, green apple, almond
Production/Tasting Notes
Native to the rainy and humid climate of north-west Spain (Galicia), the Albariño grape's thick skins and well-spaced clusters adapt well to our often wetter-than-ideal growing seasons here in central Maryland. First planted at Rocklands in 2018, we loved it so much that we added 1.5 acres of Albariño in early 2022 visible at the top of the pasture as you're looking west from the tasting room. With the producing vines still in their infancy, harvest yield is minimal, however quality has been extremely high.
For the first time, this wine is bottled under the label of its grape’s name. Previously this wine was bottled under the “Gather” label.
This wine is also a member of our Rocklands “Singular Series,” an effort to capture a singular expression of the Rocklands terroir.
In 2023, we were able to harvest just over 1,200 pounds, enough to fill a single 225 liter barrel and a bit more which shows up in small amounts in the Día wine.
The Albariño in 2023 was hand harvested on September 7th. The ripe clusters were destemmed, with the grapes allowed to sit on their skins for 24 hours. We like a brief skin contact on this grape as it seems to promote a bit of a salty component and increase aromatics. Both fermentation and aging occurred in barrel. No additions, including sulfur, were made to the wine. It's neither fined nor filtered, so a small amount of sediment remains in bottle. The wine was bottled by gravity on June 6th, 2024.