Bernabeleva Cantocuerdas Albillo de Bernabeleva 2022

Cantocuerdas Albillo de Bernabeleva is made by Bodegas Bernabeleva at San Martín de Valdeiglesias, in the granite hills of the Sierra de Gredos within the D.O. Vinos de Madrid. The winery, founded in 1923, works the area's native white grape, Albillo Real. Granite is the key to this terroir: it is a poor, free-draining, sandy soil that limits vigour and yields, and lends a fine, mineral tension and a saline thread to the wine. Altitude and the cool nights of Gredos preserve acidity in a warm continental climate. The wine is barrel-fermented and then aged for eleven months in large 500-litre French oak barrels and 2,500-litre foudres. The larger format means a slower, gentler oxygen exchange and less overt oak flavour than small barrels would give, while extended lees contact builds body, a creamy texture and a fine, savoury complexity through the release of mannoproteins. Expect a pale gold colour, a nose of white peach, pear and white flowers, and a broad, textured palate with almond, fresh dough and beeswax over a mineral, lemony finish. Serve at 11 to 13 degrees in a large glass.