Every year we select ‘100 wines that you cannot miss’ to prepare ‘The Wine Guide’ of La Vanguardia. In the three editions that we have published I have had a magnificent team of collaborators: Ferran Centelles, Meritxell Falgueras, María José Huertas, Alicia Estrada and Zoltan Nagy, all of them friends and good wine communicators. Together we choose those 100 wines, based on the wines that we liked the most or that impressed us the most in the tastings and on the trips we take during the year.
Among the wines that I personally selected, there are six that I particularly like:
New from Familia Torres, expressive of the pre-phylloxera forcada variety. Miguel A. Torres began the recovery of ancestral varieties in the early eighties, a work that has been continued by the fifth generation, Miguel and Mireia Torres.
Forcada, authorized in the DO Penedès in 2018, is the only white variety, of the more than fifty recovered, capable of producing great wines and facing climate change. The Clos Ancestral comes from the Mas Palau estate, unique for its altitude (500 m), for its distance from the marine influence and for its harvest in October, the last white harvested in the Penedès.
For these decades of research, we gave Miguel A. Torres the 2024 Career Achievement Award. In addition, Time magazine has placed him among the 100 global climate leaders, the only leader in the ranking who belongs to the wine production sector. .
The great news from the Sarral Wine Cooperative and the young wine that we liked the most this year. Monovarietal 100% trepat, since they are the largest producers of trepat in the world.
It is a trepat with a new profile, different from the trepats they have been making, and the vineyard has a lot to do with it. As they have 1,150 hectares of vineyards, they have been able to choose two unique vineyards. Firstly, because the vineyards in the municipality of Sarral are among the highest in Catalonia, between 350 and 700 meters of altitude. Second, because they have selected two very old vines, Urní, 65 years old, and Prat de Meda, 80 years old.
The preparation is also very thought out. Only 20% of the wine is aged briefly for 4 months in French oak barrels. Thus, it maintains the profile of a young wine, very varietal, with the three typical traits of Trepat, little body, little color and light alcohol content. Pure red berries with notes of violets, Mediterranean herbs and spices. Newcomer of the Year Award 2024.
Without a doubt, one of the best Reservas in Rioja for its quality-price ratio. Although their best seller is the Marqués del Atrio Crianza (€8.50), the great discovery Reserva (€10.00).
They represent two typical ripening concepts of Rioja. Both with a blend of Tempranillo and Graciano, the Crianza with 12 months in barrel and Reserva with 24 months in barrel.
Classic Rioja style reserve, from the Mendavia area, in the Navarrese Rioja. Tempranillo provides fruitiness and notes of black licorice. Graciano provides freshness and notes of aromatic herbs. The aging wraps it in subtle spicy, toasted and smoky notes. The 12-month aging in the bottle gives it roundness and ripe, silky tannins. Everything is in place.
The latest novelty from Laus, a single-varietal red Grenache that stands out for its excellent quality-price ratio. In fact, it can boast of being the most economical wine among the 100 wines selected in ‘The Wine Guide 2024’.
It is Laus’ clearest commitment to native varieties, since its classic range is structured around international varieties, as is usual in the DO Somontano. It is made with Grenache from its own vineyards, seeking all the fruity and floral expression typical of Grenache, with only 4 months of aging in mixed oak barrels to soften the tannins and obtain a soft, fruity and sweet Grenache. Excellent value for money.
This recommendation couldn’t be more personal, it is the rosé cava that we normally drink at home. Deeply indigenous, 100% trepat from Conca de Barberà, aged for 12 months in the bottle. Pale salmon color, soft, light and fresh, all easy and simple.
I also like it as a form of responsible consumption, I like to drink wines from cooperatives. Behind each bottle there are many families of winegrowers. Cellers Domenys is a cooperative founded in 1917 in Sant Jaume dels Domenys (Baix Penedès), which today brings together seven cooperatives, 500 members and more than 2,500 hectares of vineyards.
Tres Naus is made in the modernist winery of Rocafort de Queralt and its name refers to the three naves built in 1918, 1931 and 1947 by the architect César Martinell, pioneer of the so-called cathedrals of wine. In the guide we have given it the award for Best Value for Money 2024, which adds to its Gold Medal for the best Young Rosé Sparkling Wine at the Vinari 2023 awards and its Gold Medal at the vinari Barcelona Rosé 2024 awards.
I love this wine. Finally, a Tempranillo aged in Spanish oak barrels. It should be common, but it is totally original and innovative given the almost absolute use of French and American oak. The difficulty is finding the perfect oak, suitable for oenology. To make a Spanish oak barrel you need an oak that is at least 7 meters long.
Since the 2014 vintage, LAN has been testing aging in Spanish oak. Finally they opted for an 18-month aging in 72 Spanish oak barrels, with 12 months of refining in the bottle. At first it expresses red fruit with notes of coffee and cocoa. Then the differential nuances of aging in Spanish oak appear: balsamic, cedar, freshly cut firewood, resins and menthols, with well-integrated wood and soft, round and delicious tannins. For its identity, originality and innovation, we gave it the 2023 Wine Innovation Award.
