For the first time a sparkling wine made in Spain, the Corpinnat Enoteca Turó d’en Mota 2001 from Recaredo, has conquered the Olympus of the 100 points of the most prestigious list in the world, that of ‘The Wine Advocate’. To date, only eight champagnes have achieved this recognition, as recalled from Recaredo: Salon, Bollinger, Louis Roederer, Krug, Jacques Selosse, Ulysse Collin, Cédric Bouchard, Egly-Ouriet and Philipponat. But this year Álvaro Palacios’ Priorat L’Ermita has also achieved the highest score from ‘The Wine Advocate’ for the third time, with the 2021 vintage.
The Avila prescriber Luís Gutiérrez has awarded the highest score in what is popularly known as the Parker list to this sparkling wine from Sant Sadurní d’Anoia coinciding with the centenary of the founding of Recaredo by Josep Mata Capellades, which will be celebrated on the 12th of June. In statements to La Vanguardia’s Comer channel, Luis Gutiérrez states that the 100 Parker points for Enoteca Turó d’en Mota 2001 “mean that great sparkling wines can be made in Spain.” He points out that “there are conditions, but it is difficult since it takes a great terroir and time.” The taster for Spain from ‘The Wine Advocate’ acknowledges that the 2001 Turó d’ en Mota was already his favorite, but now points out that “with longer aging it is even better.” Of course, he regrets that there are only 150 bottles.
In November last year, Recaredo celebrated the 25 harvests of its iconic Turó d’en Mota at El Celler de Can Roca in Girona. It was born in 1999 as a new idea: “the first quality sparkling wine in history made 100% with the native variety Xarel·lo”. According to the winery owned by the Mata family, “it claimed, as had not been done until now, single-plot sparkling wines made in the heart of the Penedès.” Likewise, Turó d’en Mota “represented a challenge – never seen before on the market – to long aging in rhyme, one of the historical features of Recaredo’s DNA.” Taking advantage of this event, his first Enoteca was presented, in 1999.
The Enoteca Turó d’en Mota 2001 by Recaredo will be available soon at the unit price of 580 euros. It will go on the market with a bottle aging of 264 months (22 years). It is also a limited edition of only 150 bottles, all of them numbered. For the Mata family, these collections of wine cellars “symbolize the passion for the craftsmanship of the terroir and reveal the ability to preserve an inalienable identity sculpted based on demand, effort and patient passion.” Luis Gutiérrez has described the 2001 Enoteca as the best sparkling wine in Spain. He states that “on the nose it is complex and subtle, and presents a large number of aromas in which prolonged contact with the lees is present.” Likewise, he adds that “it presents very fine bubbles that give it texture and freshness, and it has incredible complexity and elegance.” He goes so far as to say that “it’s really impressive.”
According to Ton Mata, CEO and member of the third generation of the family that owns Recaredo, Turó d’en Mota was born as “the result of fierce nonconformity.” It was created with the conviction that the Penedès sparkling wines could aspire to be top level and that they would “elevate the particularities of the territory without complexes.” Ton Mata affirms that receiving the 100 Parker points has made them very excited “for Recaredo, for Corpinnat and for the Penedès”. It shows, he assures, that “in the Penedès you can make great sparkling wines, and we have to believe in our territory of quality, and in xarel·lo as a great variety.”
For his part, Luis Gutiérrez affirms that L’Ermita de Álvaro Palacios is a “tremendous” Gratallops vineyard. He adds that “when exceptional conditions occur, an extraordinary wine results, as is the case with the 2013, 2019 and 2021 vintages. They are three very different and slightly extreme vintages that have earned 100 points.” Now, the Spanish taster for ‘The Wine Advocate’ understands that the challenge lies in the drought. He remembers that last year they had to install irrigation on his old vineyard so it wouldn’t die. This leads him to affirm that “climate change must be taken seriously, and I do not see plans to manage water. No politician talks about it.” Wine dealer Quim Vila, co-owner of Vila Viniteca, has no doubt that the 2021, which they offer at 1,850 euros per bottle, is one of the three best vintages of L’Ermita.
At the top of the new Parker list of Catalan wines, the 99 points awarded to the cult Priorat Clos Erasmus 2021 from Clos i Terrasses (Daphne Glorian) and the also great Garnacha from Montsant L’Espectacle 2021 also shine.
