Milmanda was born in 1985 and, according to Familia Torres, “it is considered one of the best Spanish chardonnays”, and as “the legend of a heritage”. In fact, it is the main white icon of the Penedès-based wine company. This project was a personal bet of the president of this wine company, Miguel Agustín Torres Riera. Archaeological remains found in Milmanda testify to an Iberian, Greco-Phoenician and Roman past. It was the latter who created a villa next to the current estate to benefit from the proximity of the Via Aurelia, which linked Tarraco with Ilerda (Tarragona and Lleida).
Virgilio wrote of its wines: “The countryside is fertile, especially in the mountainous terrain, since its wine is comparable to that of Italy.”
It has its origins in the estate known as Castell de Milmanda, which belonged to the Cistercian monks, near the Poblet Monastery. The Visigoths built a castle here; later fortified by the Arabs. In 1136, Count Ramon Berenguer IV freed the region from Islamic rule, and Milmanda became feudal and abbatial property. Abbot Copons, considered the most legendary figure in the history of Poblet, arrived in Milmanda in 1320 and ordered the construction of the defense tower that today presides over the castle. He put his shield in the shape of a cup, in reference to his last name.
Milmanda was part of a route of medieval castles that sheltered Christians in times of reconquest. With the twelfth century peace came to these lands, which led to the restart of the cultivation of the vine. Des de Familia Torres states that “returning to Milmanda is delving into chronology. Walking through its vineyards is walking through the echoes of history. On the horizon, the future; under our feet, a past and a present that are very much alive”. And it is added that “crossing of cultures, war vicissitudes and monastic wine experience trace the hypnotic personality of these enclaves”.
Its deep clayey-calcareous soils, rich in silt, formed from reddish marls of Oligocene origin, and its Mediterranean climate with continental influence create the ideal conditions for the development of the Chardonnay variety. They are soils with moderate drainage, with a very high water retention capacity. This favors a balanced vegetative growth of the chardonnay, which was planted in 1980. At the Milmanda estate, regenerative agriculture techniques are currently applied. It has vineyards planted at around 400 meters above sea level.
It is a wine with a very good fresh component, since maturation is somewhat delayed thanks to the composition of its soils. They have announced new plantations with the Keyline system (as in Mas de la Rosa de Porrera, in the DO Calificada Priorat), using the contour lines to make the most of the available rainwater. They have found water points that they were unaware of until now, which opens the door for them to carry out precision irrigation. “Until now irrigation has been demonized, but we have realized that, due to the extreme droughts, summer irrigation allows us to reach a better ripeness avoiding dehydration, and obtain more quality”, affirms the general director of the winery, Miquel Torres.
The 2020 vintage was marked by a rainy spring and mild temperatures throughout the year, including the month of August. These factors favored a slow and gradual ripening that reached an optimal level and excellent health. The harvest in Conca de Barberà was marked by an important advance due to the weather conditions throughout the year. After a mild and dry winter came a rainy spring, with mild temperatures. However, the month of May was very warm.
According to Familia Torres, their vineyards in Conca de Barberà did not suffer as much as in the rest of Catalonia due to the great plague of mildew fungus in this vintage. The summer was drier, with normal temperatures. There were only a few specific days with strong heat. The Prades mountains modulate the maritime influence and impregnate the area’s Mediterranean climate with a certain continental tendency. Harvesting of the 2020 vintage began on September 3.
The wine is made in the Familia Torres winery in Pacs del Penedès despite being marketed under the DO Conca de Barberà. It fermented and aged in 300-liter (80%) oak barrels and 1,500-liter foudres with 50% new French oak for four months, followed by aging on fine lees in stainless steel for 12 months.
The 2020 harvest is the first harvest in which malolactic fermentation has not been carried out. The decision was made “to preserve all the freshness that the vineyard offers us”, according to the technical director, the oenologist Josep Sabarich. It was bottled in June 2022. Of this vintage, 11,959 bottles have been produced in three-quarter-litre formats, 345 in one and a half liters and 11 in three-litre formats.
Milmanda 2020 is a aged white wine with a beautiful straw yellow color, with golden reflections. It is sharp and bright. It displays ripe spring stone fruit (peach and apricot), honey flowers and elegant hints of vanilla from French oak aging. With a final note of slightly bitter raw almond. It is evident that it is the result of a vintage with a special acidity, which gives it a lot of length. It is somewhat sharp and has 13.5º of alcohol. It is round thanks to the work done with fine bundles.
Its aging in wood is very well integrated into the wine. “The focus, the leading role, we put on the Chardonnay variety and not on aging in wood,” says Josep Sabarich. Ideal is its pairing with a brothy rice with red shrimp from Vilanova i la Geltrú, with a risotto or some mushroom cannelloni and even with poultry stews, such as grilled free range picantón or duck magret steak tartare from El Celleret Jardí Restaurant of Familia Torres in Pacs del Penedès.
The general manager of Familia Torres, Miquel Torres Maczassek, likes to accompany it with a soupy rice with red prawns from Vilanova i la Geltrú. Josep Sabarich prefers it with a sea bass ceviche with little coriander. He considers that “the freshness of the wine and its intense nose with hints of fruit combine very well with the citrus of the dish.”
Milmanda is part of the Miguel Torres Anthology collection. These are wines that, according to Familia Torres, “share the elegance and Mediterranean spirit, while each one reflects its place of origin, with the particularities of its soils and climate.” Miquel Torres Maczassek has stated that “our intention, when making these wines, is to let the vineyard express itself freely, showing the effects of the vintage and finding the right balance to enhance the natural freshness and varietal character with very little intervention.”
