New and bold styles of wine, that you may not be familiar with, to add to your list of much-loved favourites. El Garbí Garnacha Tinto, Terra Alta, Spain 2020. We can start Dry January soon…
EvyOctober 25, 2023
Written by Mark Pygott, Master of Wine
Terra Alta, Spain
Sitting to the south of Priorat at an altitude that varies between 350 and 550m, Terra Alta is quintessentially Mediterranean.
With a twist of continentality that ensures cool nights to help the retention of acidity and fruit aromas during the growing season and cold winters to allow the vines to enter true dormancy, so that they can rest, recharge and build up carbohydrate reserves for the following year.
Terra Alta is also the (unofficial) home of Garnacha Blanca, a variety that in Terra Alta’s low rainfall climate and poor soils, sees its vigour restricted, resulting in low yields of high-quality juice delivered to our winery’s door. So enthused were we by the quality on offer, that we decided to invest significant sums in the highest quality French oak and to source fruit from vineyards that historically had proven to be the best’.
"The two El Garbi wines are particular points of pride for me because they are two of the very best expressions of the entire region, but what is it that makes Terra Alta special?"
These decisions have produced a white of both richness and tension, a wine that will surprise many not familiar with Spain’s ability to produce fine wines beyond the red category…
Our Garnacha Tinta is equally surprising but for different reasons. With the red we wanted to produce a wine that had the heady perfume that high altitude Garnacha can display, without any jamminess or spiritiness caused by unwieldy levels of alcohol. We achieved this by picking slightly earlier and by employing a winemaking regime that sees a phased removal of the juice from the skins during fermentation, to fully realise the aromatic nature of the fruit.
As both these wines are limited in production and very popular, please be patient with us as we try and allocate these wines fairly.
Awards & Press
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