Tasting Notes
I have 5 bottles of the 2016 vintage left - this was rated 1 of Decanter magazine's top 10 Terra Alta wines; an Outstanding Garnacha with 95 points. If you order the 2017, I'll email you to see if you would like to include some of the 2016 in your order.
This beautiful wine is produced from Garnacha Blanca also known as Garnatxa Blanc in its native Catalonia and Grenache Blanc in France. The vines are about 60 years old and the old vines add to the complexity and structure of the wine. In the Terra Alta wine region soils are mainly limestone but this wine comes from one of a few pockets of “panal” soils which are fossilised sand dunes which means that very low yields are produced.
In my blogpost you can read more about Edetària and winemaker, Joan Àngel Lliberia, and how they have made Grenache Blanc into a cult wine.
In short, I just love this wine when I first tasted it - and still continue to go "Wow!" whenever I open a bottle. It's organic, full-bodied, complex and silky - apple, pear, citrus fruit, floral notes and more. A really special wine. I tasted both the 2016 and the 2017 on the same day and I found it hard to work out which I like best. You will not be disappointed in either.
Food Pairing
This wine is great on its own. Given its body and structure it will also match well with a range of foods including seafood generally, shellfish, fish including fish ceviche or tartare, sushi, smoked salmon & smoked trout and it will cope well with richer dishes in creamy sauce.
Producer's Notes
"Complex and mineral aromas with hydrocarbon notes. Powerful palate, balanced with a well integrated acidity that will bring to the wine a long life. Full bodied, silky, long, persistent and elegant."
Awards
2017 vintage
17.5 points JancisRobinson.com Oct 2019
"I almost forgot to taste this. Sat there, drinking up the smell of this wine, not wanting to move. It's like crushing a lemon leaf between your fingers then slathering a hot slice of just-out-the-oven spelt bread with butter and homemade apricot conserve and then taking a sip of Earl Grey tea. It's floral and bitter, sweet and savoury, melting, dusty, sharp, bitter. It yanks at your mouth and then dances. It kicks and then smiles sweetly. Still very tight and too young. Wait a couple of years, don't serve below 10 °C (50 °F), decant."
2016 vintage
95 points, Outstanding Decanter magazine Mar 2020
"Classic crianza notes with a creamy texture and a long finish, indicating luxury ageing and prime fruit. Quite long. A great classic... Creamy, leesy aromatics. Supple on the palate with equally creamy notes and a lively lift of acidity. Full-bodied but beautifully fresh at the same time. Elegant... Kerosene notes, toasty, fine and elegant. Crisp, tangy, focused and distinctive on the palate..."
93 points & featured in Miquel Hudin's top 12 Terra Alta wines Decanter magazine Mar 2019
"Yellow peach and light lemon citrus peel aromas on the nose, alongside delicate floral notes, streaks of vanilla and yellow wildflowers. Very layered and subtle on the palate, which shows vibrant, fine acidity that pushes a lengthy finish, boasting well-defined citrus and orchard fruit notes."
93 points JamesSuckling.com Jun 2018
"Bright and punchy fruit here, in the white-peach and lemon zone. Some pithy texture and a long, juicy and fresh finish. This has a lot to offer."
91 points Wine Spectator 2018
"This fleshy white delivers ripe flavors of apricot and pineapple, with orange, honeysuckle and vanilla accents. Shows a touch of late-harvest character, but there's enough acidity to keep this lively."
17.5 points JancisRobinson.com Nov 2018
"Honeyed, toasty, smoky nose. The kind of wine you get lost in without even tasting. A glorious symphony of smoky rich fruit and shimmering acidity. Tastes of grilled oranges and grapefruit, candied peel, Yuzu and pecans in honey. And yet, despite all this golden orange glow on the mid palate there is an incredible minerality, and that really is the only word I can think of to describe it. It's a tension that has the cold lines of marble, the fineness of a thousand harp strings, and tastes of brushed steel and slate dust and gunpowder. It's a wine that you hold in your mouth and don't want to swallow."
