Albariño has grown on the northwest coast of Spain and Portugal for centuries, resulting in wonderful food-friendly wines known for their enticing aromatics, vivacious crispness, and intriguing complexity. If ever a wine begs for food, this is it. It has gained in popularity in the States in the last few years, and for us to have one of the few domestic versions produced in this country is both exciting and noteworthy.

Several thousand miles west of Spain lies Cobb Mountain. Jim Fore’s vineyard is a spectacular property, situated at 3000 feet elevation. Soils are thin in the Red Hills and drain instantly. The elevation places vines well above the hot summer heat trapped in the valleys below, and aligns them in the path of cool westerly Pacific breezes. At the same time, there is paradoxically greater solar intensity that has some inexplicable effect on the grapes. Because of the high elevation, the differential between day and night time temperatures is dramatic, resulting in intensely flavored grapes.

2023 was one of the longest growing seasons while 2024 returns to a more normal timeframe. In fact, we harvested our 2024 Albariño a month earlier. Once again abundant winter rainfall resulted in vines with healthy canopy that protected grapes from intense heat periods of which there were several.  However, the crop was unfortunately miniscule—surprisingly so—which also hastened its ripening.  

As for the wine. Its light straw color invites you to explore the array of evocative aromas unique to Albariño—citrus blossom, ripe honeydew, ginger, cardamom, and white pepper. A bust of ripe peach flavors is balanced with a lip-smacking refreshing acidity. Sometimes Albariño’s acidity can be a bit too much, but this time, I think it’s right on target

The quest for wines off the beaten path continues to grow—and we are happy to provide this candidate.

Purists will particularly appreciate our 2024—I think there’s a very good chance of it being mistaken for one of its premium Spanish counterparts!