The restless and prolific Spanish wine sector will be on display this coming week in the showcase of the fourth edition of Barcelona Wine Week. La Vanguardia’s Magazine includes around thirty novelties, many of which can be tasted in Palace 8 of the Fira de Barcelona’s Montjuïc venue. They are an expression of new trends in Spanish wine, in which the emphasis is placed on showing fruit and freshness, as well as on native varieties. There are young ones and long-aged ones; with bubbles (traditional and ancestral method) and calm; conventional and natural and also sweet and dry. And there is no shortage of new developments with a solidarity vocation and diverse formats.
The selection reflects the sector’s commitment to commercialize products from organic farming, with minimal intervention and suitable for vegans and celiacs. We travel from the Penedès, the Conca de Barberà, the Priorat, the Pla de Bages, Alella, the Empordà, the Terra Alta or the Montsant to the Rioja, Rías Baixas and the Ribera del Duero, passing through Madrid, Arlanza, Jumilla, Alicante , Cádiz, León or El Bierzo. There are for all pockets.
Organic white wine suitable for vegans from this winery in San Martín de Valdeiglesias (Madrid) that seeks to “find the best expression of the Albillo Real variety.” Aged for 20 months in a single 500 liter barrel. Fatty and voluminous, with ripe fruit and a mineral and honey touch. Of very limited production. 23.90 euros.
Legend has it that Graciela, who gives its name to this sweet, met the Moon and proposed that on full moon nights she would help her recognize the best bunches of grapes with its magical light. A Viura Rioja from Bodegas Franco Españolas aged in barrels for 24 months. With hints of dried apricots, honey and smoked. 18 euros (37.5 cl.).
The new solidarity cava of the Rotary Club is the elegant and balanced Brut Nature Reserva of 2020 from the Vives Ambrós de Montferri winery. With fruit and white flower. It has been selected by the Cava Brotherhood in a blind tasting. 1.5 euros from its sale will go to the fight against childhood polio. Suitable for vegans. 7.50 euros.
The first non-alcoholic Catalan vermouth is from Maieutiké Winery. A surprising drink. Made from dealcoholized wine with sugars from the concentrated must and an infusion of aromatic herbs and spices. It debuts on the Food channel with 2,000 bottles. Ideal with ice and combined with tonic and orange peel. €8.90.
Solidarity cava in favor of research against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), together with the Musicveu festival. The profits will go to the Catalan ALS Foundation Miquel Valls and CatELA. Made with the three typical Penedès varieties. It shows notes of apple and white flower, with roundness and a sweet touch. 12 euros.
White polyhedral from the DO Arlanza presented in a liter and a half format. Made with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Viognier varieties planted at 890 meters above sea level in Mahamud (Burgos). With half a year of aging in barrels and up to 36 months rounding off in the bottle. Complex and elegant, without being exuberant. 125 euros (Magnum).
Cariñena and Grenache that Celler Ronadelles presents as “the essence of high-altitude Montsant”. This red wine is suitable for vegans and celiacs. It shows somewhat boozy fruit and well-integrated wood (vanilla), as well as a mineral touch. Aged for 12 months in French oak foudres with a capacity of 2,000 liters. 12.90 euros.
The Vilobí del Penedès winery launches an image for three cavas that are “a timeless melody, evoking the elegance and style of Frank Sinatra.” They say that a classic never goes out of style. Rosé with 12 months of trepat and 50% red garnacha. It is young, refreshing, sweet (11 grams of sugars per liter) and with notes of red fruit. 7.45 euros.
Microvinification with indigenous yeasts and without added sulfites. It takes the name of the Afghan hound of the family that owns it. It is a crisp white fruit from a Xarel•lo vineyard (Seneco) planted in 1990. It is an elegant natural wine of very limited production. With notes of apple and almond. 16 euros.
This young red Rioja has been declared the best signature wine under £20 by The Drinks Business. With this red they want to pay tribute to their wisest winegrowers. It is a Tempranillo fruit of vineyards planted at the end of the 70s of the last century. It shows a lot of fruit with a touch of wood. 15 euros.
The most iconic wine of this Bercian winery has just released a new image. Fruit of centuries-old Mencía vines. They define it as a wine “for long after-dinner conversations in front of a fireplace.” With 16 months in new French oak barrels and 36 more months in bottle. Fresh, with good acidity and a certain rusticity. 57.90 euros.
Singular and rare Malvasia from Sitges made with carbonic maceration and subsequent aging in demijohns. She is the daughter of Can Prats’ own vineyard. With this white they intend to pay tribute to the women who have been part of their wine history. An aromatic Malvasia with minimal intervention and vibrant acidity. 25 euros.
The largest wine search engine in the world, Wine Searcher, has selected this Soriano rosé from the DO Ribera del Duero among the ten best in the world. Tinto Fino and Albillo Real in equal parts. Delicate, fresh and pale pink in color, with copper tones. With well integrated wood. 59.95 euros.
Spearhead of the bet for the Torre del Veguer red garnacha in the Barberà Basin. It is a red wine aged 12 months in 500-liter barrels focused on red fruit. It is the son of a beautiful own vineyard planted in Vimbodí and Poblet. Roundness with fragrance (pink) and minerality in a modern wine from viña vieja whose label is presided over by a common cuckoo. 24.50 euros.
This red wine from the Rioja winery La Carbonera comes from glass vineyards that are about 25 years old, arranged on gentle slopes and small terraces in the foothills of the Cantabria mountain range, mostly within the Rioja Alavesa. It seeks to show the typicality of the Sonsierra. Fresh, modern and easy to drink Tempranillo. 8.90 euros.
This homegrown organic xarel•lo debuts in a liter and a half format. It is fermented and aged in cement, glass, ceramics, stainless steel and French oak. His multifaceted upbringing is evident. With notes of apple, stone fruit, vanilla and fennel. Young, fresh, lively and also complex DO Penedès. 30 euros (Magnum).
Sparkling wine made according to the ancestral method. It is a monastrell from Alella (Mataró) macerated in the press. Ruby red in color, with a lot of red fruit and very dry, with a very soft tannin that holds up well to carbon dioxide. A very refreshing natural sparkling wine, with wild yeasts and no added sulfites. 12.95 euros.
100% red garnacha planted between 20 and 25 years ago in Poboleda. Aging for about 6 months in concrete eggs to respect the fruit more. Organic Priorat that shows ripe red fruit and juicy black plum, on a cedar background without the wine having passed through wood. Round, young and with good acidity. Only 1,500 bottles. 50 euros.
Pasture sherry wine made with perruno from the centenary vineyard of Barajuelas, in Trebujena. An orange with 100% stems and aged for ten months in Amontillado chestnut bocoys (80%) and stainless steel tanks with flower veil. Notes of citrus peel, peach and raw almond. A different southern wine. 26.25 euros.
Monastrell from old vines from a dry land in Pinoso, in Medio Vinalopó. They managed to recover it just before it was torn away. It is a Singular Alicante with ten months in barrel. About 12,000 bottles of this first vintage have been made. A red wine from Bodegas Volver with a lot of fruit. Round, tasty, ripe and satisfying. 20 euros.
Villa wine from DO Bierzo, fruit of a century-old vineyard. White made with whole bunches and maceration for 8 days in open barrels. It is aged for a year with thick lees in static, without bazuqueo. Stone fruit, notes reminiscent of pipes, good acidity, chalky sensation and saline finish. With only 12º alcohol. 85 euros.
Alicante Singular made with bows and 50% monastrell. Fruit of a vineyard in La Cañada, which crosses the Vinalopó River. Stepped with feet, fermented in clay jars and aged in a used 500 liter French oak barrel for 3 months. Low layer. Minimal intervention. It is fine and elegant but deep. 15 euros.
DO Arlanza from a centuries-old and steep vineyard planted in Covarrubias (Burgos) at about 1,000 meters of altitude. The very old vineyard was lost and has ended up being recovered. Made with tempranillo, garnacha, mencía and a touch of white varieties. Very fine, stylized and elegant. It debuts with only 275 bottles. 32 euros.
The Covides cooperative has just released its first two Vi de Mas from the Penedès DO. They take the name of a farm in Sant Sebastià dels Gorgs. The white is an organic xarel•lo with a slight maceration with skins and a short lees work. Not very aromatic, and light. With varietal notes of white fruit, somewhat bitter almond and fennel. 19.95 euros.
Garnacha tinta from the DO Empordà from a historic estate planted in 1959 by Joan Fabra Isach, the grandfather of the family that owns this winery in Sant Climent Sescebes. It is a limited edition. Deep, elegant and long. Red fruit and flower, and minerality (graphite). Aged 7 months in concrete and 15 more in old French oak barrels. 28 euros.
Organic Prieto picudo from the DO León with integral vinification in barrels (aged there for 22 months in a cave, plus one more year in the bottle). From a vineyard more than 50 years old. They state that “it is a tribute to those people who, with effort and perseverance, are a source of inspiration, joy, protection and unity.” 49.50 euros.
Red Grenache from the Qualified Priorat DO, fruit of a vineyard with slate soil and late pruning to study the effects of climate change. It debuts on the market with only about 500 bottles. With 30% stem and 16 months of single-use barrel. An interesting fruity Grenache, fine and airy. 40 euros.
Effervescent albariño from Val do Salnés (DO Rías Baixas). Made following the traditional method, with a minimum of 24 months of aging in the bottle in contact with the lees. Of medium intensity. Refreshing, with lively carbonation and vibrant acidity. A unique and very dry sparkling wine with notes of flowers and white fruits, as well as citrus. 24 euros.
Fruit of the Quintana Vella plot, planted in 1986, this organic Macabeo complex from the DO Pla de Bages is born, aged for six months in 500-liter Slavonian oak barrels. It was bottled on a crescent moon on April 1, 2020. In the bottle it has matured for a further 42 months. Elegant and varietal. With only 11º of alcohol. 36 euros.
Natural sparkling wine made following the ancestral method with grapes of the Cariñena variety, fruit of a vineyard in the Cornudella de Montsant valley. Without DO. It is a unique effervescent wine of very limited production produced by Xavier Estivill’s small winery. Very young and refreshing, with lively carbonation. 15 euros.
Monastrell 100% Singular Vineyard from the DO Jumilla, planted at 700 meters of altitude on the north face of the Sierra del Carche (Murcia). Volume, fleshiness, intensity and ripe black fruit with a certain freshness in a red with packaging that has been aged for 12 months in French oak barrels. 24 euros.
Godello from the DO Bierzo from a vineyard planted in 1986 on a mountain slope, north slope, and at 607 meters of altitude, on the Carrapito hill of Cabañas Raras. With quartzite and slate floors. It offers notes of white fruit (pear), tropical (pineapple), citrus and fennel, with a mineral background. Very young, fresh and with good acidity. 15 euros.
40% white Grenache, 30% Macabeo and 30% Chardonnay from Terra Alta in a new aging wine from DO Catalunya. Fermented and aged for 8 months in new French oak barrels. Opulent classicism, with marked wood and notes of stone fruit and bitter almond. It is advisable to decant it. 24.75 euros.
60% Garnacha Tinta, 20% Cariñena and 20% Macabeo in this pale rosé from the DO Ca. Priorat by the brothers René and Christian Barbier Meyer. Aged for 18 months in an old 2,000 liter foudre. It debuts with 3,600 bottles. It is mineral, voluminous and with notes of flowers and red fruits. Very gastronomic. 43 euros.
This red wine from the DO Ribera del Duero has a new image with this new vintage. It is a Tempranillo aged in French and American oak barrels. With notes of red and black fruit, licorice and a touch of toast (coffee) and spice (clove). Medium bodied and with a certain freshness. Still young. More passage per bottle will do you very well. 20.50 euros.
Pure fruit expression of the native Monastrell variety in DO Alicante. It is a young, fresh (13.5º) and round red wine from the Vinos del Paseante collection, from the Raventós Codorníu group. Made with organic grapes from the Alto Vinalopó area. With floral notes (violet and rose), black and red fruit, chocolate and licorice. 11.95 euros.
