Catalan Wines

Wine Folly’s “Spanish Wine Exploration” and lack of accuracy

by  |  30-06-2016 ~ 3 Comments

"Wine Folly's content is often inaccurate, exceedingly narrow, and horribly derivative." states a reviewer name W. Hughes on Amazon. His review is for the Wine Folly book which I would have to agree with as... more »

Trepat, Catalonia’s “Pinot Noir”?

by  |  28-06-2016

It's always a minefield to compare one wine grape to another, especially when styles around the world vary so much but in terms of Catalonia's Trepat grape and Pinot Noir, there are more aspects than... more »

In The Glass: Mas Oller – Plus 2013

by  |  24-06-2016

It was more than 6 years ago that I first visited Mas Oller. It was so long ago that I remember having trouble finding them due to a lack of sign at the time and... more »

Castellroig, for example

by  |  22-06-2016 ~ 1 Comment

As I've written before, I get very tired of people comparing Cava to Champagne and decidedly stating that Cava is in no way at the same level. This doesn't take into account price as well... more »

Tasting the tops of Torres

by  |  24-05-2016

For the August issue of Decanter (which will be out at the beginning of July) I wrote up a profile about Miguel Torres Jr. who, since 2012 has been the General Director of the Torres... more »

The rebirth of the Escanyavella grape in Priorat

by  |  20-05-2016

There existed many old grape varieties in Catalonia; many of them in much greater numbers before phylloxera. In the days that followed this catastrophic attack to European winemaking there was something of a viticultural reckoning... more »

Taking a balanced look at the Priorats

by  |  16-05-2016

Whether viewing it as a yolk and its white or a donut and its hole, it's hard not to see DOQ Priorat and DO Montsant closely linked given that the latter wraps nearly completely around... more »

In The Glass: Vinyes d’en Gabriel – Mans de Samsó 2013

by  |  12-05-2016 ~ 4 Comments

It takes visiting large production regions such as Rioja or Napa where they tout a wine as "small production" at 5,000 bottles to really appreciate the all-too typical story in both DOQ Priorat & DO... more »

DO Conca de Barberà is not the grape, Barbera

by  |  09-05-2016 ~ 1 Comment

With today's regional focus being on the Catalan wine region, DO Conca de Barberà, it's probably a good moment to chat about something that's very easy to confuse in that this wine region has absolutely... more »

In The Glass: Vins de Foresta – Marselan 2013

by  |  06-05-2016

Marselan is a curious beast that's been popping up here and there. Originally created as a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache, it was successfully bred near the town of Marseillan, France from which it... more »