Region: Terra Alta, Spain

Varietal: 100% Garnatía Blanca

Tasting notes: Light, green-tinged yellow. Mineral-accented citrus and orchard fruits on the nose, along with suggestions of honeysuckle and tarragon that build with air. Taut and seamless in texture, offering energetic pear, tangerine and quinine flavors braced by a spine of zesty acidity. Finishes sappy and very long, showing sharp definition and repeating florality. Chablis fans, take note!

Producer: The Piñol family has been vine growers for four generations. The switch to producing and selling their own wine occurred in 1945 when Josep Arrufi founded Celler Vinos Piñol. The goal of this family-run estate was and has remained to produce small quantities of well-crafted wines with passion, love and respect for the land. Today, Josefina Piñol and her son, Juanjo Galcera Piñol, are at the helm. Celler Vinos Piñol owns 100 acres of carefully tended vines, in and around the medieval town of Batea, in the Terra Alta district of the Tarragona province, which is located a few miles south and west of Priorat. The vineyards are organically farmed and certified by CCPAE.

Vineyard and Winemaking: Similar to Yecla and Vinos de Madrid, Terra Alta is one of Spain’s up-and-coming wine regions with an identity built on exciting projects and progressive innovation. The soils are composed of 95% limestone and 5% clay. Yields are low, which enhances concentration and complexity in the grapes. The hot day and warm-to-moderate night temperatures make Terra Alta a drier and warmer region than Montsant or Priorat.  Fruit is hand harvested in the cool morning hours, and the grapes are brought to the winery in small 15 kg boxes. After de-stemming, the grapes are crushed and go into 10,000 L stainless steel tanks. The unfermented juice mixes with the skins at cool temperature for about 8 hours to maximize the extraction of flavors from the skins. The grapes ferment with neutral yeast (from Levuline in Champagne), which is optimal to ferment grapes with high sugar levels. The wine is aged in stainless steel tanks on the lees for 2 months. No malolactic.