Ellis Wines launches sea-aged Albariño

By James Lawrence

Published: 06 January, 2022

Ellis Wines is poised to market a very esoteric style of Albariño, matured in the freezing depths of the Atlantic Ocean for six months.

Called Attis Mar, the wine is aged in the murky reaches of the Rias Baixas to “maximize its expressiveness and Atlantic nuances.” It will retail for over £60, with the fruit sourced from the Val do Salnés subzone.

According to brand owner Bodegas Attis, the grapes are from 60 year old vineyards, planted on granite and sandy/clay soils. The white wine is aged on its fine lees in stainless steel tanks and oak vats for six months, before it is bottled and shipped to the Atlantic for maturation.

The wine is described as having “ a very fresh acidity, fat and fleshy.” It is reportedly: “full-bodied, salty, underpinned by a lingering finish.”

Bodegas Attis was founded in 2000 by the Farina family. Today they cultivate 12.3 acres of vineyards planted with Albarino vines ranging from 5 to 40 years in Galicia.

In 2011, Attis invested in a new, modern winery and hired Jean-Francois Hebrard for technical advice and ecological cultivation in the vineyards.

The producer joins a growing firmament of winemakers experimenting with sea-ageing their wines. Veuve Clicquot submerged some Champagne in the Baltic sea, while Gaia Winery in Greece has matured bottle beneath the Mediterranean.

In addition, Pessac-Leognan estate Larrivet Haut-Brion aged a barrel of its 2009 vintage in the sea.

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