por Luis Gutiérrez

06 Apr. 2024

Let’s start our journey from south to north

Terra Alta

I had neglected the Terra Alta region a little in my recent reviews of the wines from Cataluña, so I tried to taste from a number of producers I had not tasted in the last few years.

Terra Alta is an appellation in the province of Tarragona where the main grape is Garnacha, white and red. It’s one of the zones with high potential for whites made from Garnacha Blanca grapes. I found very impressive wines from producers I had not tasted for a while, including Barbara Forés, Edetária and Herència Altés.

Herència Altés is a winery that was created in 2010. They have 50 hectares of vineyards, half of them old, all certified organic since 2018. They have fine-tuned their wines in the last few years with a big change in reds in 2022 and in whites from 2023. They described the latest vintages in simple terms: 2020 the year of mildew, 2021 the year of snowstorm Filomena, 2022 an average year and 2023 the year of drought.

94 pts

I found complexity, elegance, Depth and personality in the 2022 La Serra Negre, a blend of 80% Cariñena and 20% Garnacha from old vines on limestone soils. It fermented in open-top 500-liter barrels with 30% full clusters and indigenous yeasts. The careful élevage in oak didn’t leave aromas or flavors of oak in the wine. The nose is perfumed, with intense aromas of violets, dark cherries, spice, some meaty notes and a smoky twist. It has a moderate 13.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.3 denoting very good freshness, a medium-bodied palate with very fine tannins and great balance. Very tasty. 1,643 bottles were filled in March 2024.

Drink Date: 2024-2030

 

LA SERRA Blanc 2021

93 pts

The white 2021 La Serra Blanc is their Garnacha Blanca from old vines planted in 1918 on poor limestone soils at 480 meters in altitude. The juice from the direct pressing fermented in concrete with native yeasts, and the wine matured an Austrian 2,500-liter foudre, an Austrian 600-liter barrel and a 600-liter amphora for eight months. It’s clean, subtle and elegant, with varietal notes of white fruit and flowers and some fine spices. It has a pungent palate with intense sensations of chalk and is dry, vibrant and balanced with 14% alcohol and a pH of 3.2. It finishes with a subtle twist of bitterness. 4,900 bottles were filled in February 2023.

Drink Date: 2024-2030

 

BENUFET 2023

92 pts

The golden colored 2023 Benufet was produced with Garnacha Blanca grapes from older vines at 450 meters in altitude. It has some skin contact, and then the free-run juice from the pressing of the whole clusters fermented in concrete with indigenous yeasts; the wine matured in those tanks with the fine lees and regular bâtonnage for four months. The nose is all about yellow fruit, pollen and wax, with flinty/reductive personality. It has contained ripeness and alcohol (13%) and very good freshness, with a pH of 3.15. It’s round and lush, with licorice notes, very tasty and even saltier than the regular Garnatxa Blanca. 16,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2024.

Drink Date: 2024-2029

 

TREMENTINAIRE 2021

92 pts

The very orange 2021 Trementinaire was produced as an homage to the traditional skin-contact whites from the zone, macerating the skins for no less than four weeks. It has a pungent nose of yellow fruit, herbs and an earthy touch, typical of the macerated whites and a faintly tannic palate with moderate 12.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.4. The wine had an oxidative élevage in used 300- and 500-liter barrels for two years, which also give it some nuttiness. As I often see in the style of wine, it’s greatly marked by the process. It is very good in its style, with freshness and balance. 4,100 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2023. 

Drink Date: 2024-2028

 

LA BORRASSONA 2022

92 pts

The red Garnacha 2022 La Borrassona was produced with grapes from three similar plots of 40- to 60-year-old vines on silty limestone soils. It fermented with 30% full clusters in concrete and matured in 5,000-liter Austrian foudres for one year. It has a bright pale ruby color and a serious, nuanced and austere nose and no presence of oak. The palate reveals very fine tannins, pungent flavors and a dry chalky sensation and is medium to full-bodied, with ripeness but with freshness and balance. It’s clean and varietal. 9,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2023.

Drink Date: 2024-2028

 

LA PILOSA 2022

92 pts

The Garnacha Peluda (Hairy Garnacha) red 2022 La Pilosa was produced with a biotype thas has more vigor and less color than the regular Garnacha, and they want to highlight the lightness and freshness of the variety. It comes from a vineyard planted in 2016 on clay and limestone soils that is head-pruned and dry-farmed. It fermented with 40% full clusters in concrete with native yeasts and underwent malolactic and aging for 10 months in 5,000 liter Austrian foudres. It’s perfumed, with ripe berry fruit and herbs and has some earthy and dusty notes, with a rustic twist and hints of tree bark, closer to Cariñena than to regular Garnacha. It also has some dusty tannins and earthy minerality. It has 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.65 and 4.9 grams of acidity. 25,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in Febrary 2024.

Drink Date: 2024-2028

 

GARNATXA BLANCA 2023

91 pts

The very young village white 2023 Garnatxa Blanca was produced with grapes from Batea on limestone soils selected from higher-altitude vineyards, some of them very old and the rest 25 to 40 years. The whole bunches were pressed, and the juice fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel where the wine aged with the fine lees and regular bâtonnage for three months. It has a contained 13% alcohol and a low pH of 3.05 denoting very good freshness, remarkable for such a dry year. It was produced in a more reductive, serious style and is flinty, full of energy, textured, focused and very tasty, almost salty. 60,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2024.

Drink Date: 2024-2028

 

GARNATXA NEGRA 2023

91 pts

The very pale and young red 2023 Garnatxa Negra is very primary, fruit-driven, straightforward and light despite the 14.5% alcohol, neatly balanced by a pH of 3.2 and five grams of acidity. It has clean aromas and flavors and very fine tannins. It is very easy to drink. The partly destemmed bunches fermented with indigenous yeasts for 15 days with a very soft extraction, and the wine matured in 5,000-liter Austrian foudres for three months. Delicious. 40,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2024.

Drink Date: 2024-2027

 

LA XALAMERA 2020

91 pts

The single-vineyard Garnacha 2020 La Xalamera feels very ripe with notes of cherries in liqueur, hitting the scale at 15% alcohol and with mellow acidity. It fermented with 20% full clusters in concrete and matured in Austrian foudres for 17 months. It has some dusty rusticity with abundant tannins and a powdery sensation in the finish. 6,800 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2022. 

Drink Date: 2024-2028