Catalan Wines

DO Montsant, calling it “cheap Priorat” is just so 2006

by  |  04-05-2016

I've been giving a series of guided tastings in English at the Wine Aspects school in Vilafranca del Penedès. They started with DO Empordà and will finish with DOQ Priorat. But right in the middle,... more »

RIP Philippe Geeraert

by  |  02-05-2016 ~ 1 Comment

I'm thoroughly unclear on what the objective of 2016 is other than to methodically kill off everyone involved with the wine world. With a string of high-profile winemakers dying in France as well as Zlatan... more »
Photo courtesy of Clos 93

Discovering “Garnatxa del Po”

by  |  27-04-2016

Clos 93 is one of those cellars in DOQ Priorat that exemplifies how the winemakers in this appellation are more closely resembling those in Burgundy than anywhere else in Spain. With just 12,000 bottles a... more »
Their tasting room in the farmhouse

The novel approach of Clos Lentiscus

by  |  16-04-2016

Since fully moving to Priorat, I've ironically been spending a good deal of time in Penedès. First was for the "Rebels of Penedès" article and then for the Clàssic Penedès follow up. Despite Clos Lentiscus... more »

Color me unsurprised, Wine Folly gets Priorat dead wrong

by  |  12-04-2016 ~ 4 Comments

There's usually not too much to be gained in pointing out someone else's errors. At best, people see you as a smart ass. At worst, they see you as an asshole. Essentially, some varying shade... more »
A rainbow of wonderful wines

And the Porrera wine gang was all there

by  |  01-04-2016

As was usually when coming in from one of the trails around the village of Porrera, my dog had spotted a cat and ran off through the houses. We've been through this game many times... more »
Russell at his apartment in el Masroig

D. Russell Smith, a Texan in the vineyards of Montsant

by  |  29-03-2016

When researching the book for DO Montsant, I did everything I could to uncover every wine that was being made with any degree of seriousness within the appellation. This took me to all the far-flung... more »

A glàss of clàss? Understanding “Clàssic Penedès”

by  |  18-03-2016

In recent years, there has been a great deal of push back against the Denomination of Origin bodies in Spain which have been perceived as moving too slowly in terms of modifying outdated restrictions to... more »

In The Glass: Jané Ventura – Sumoll 2013

by  |  12-03-2016

Sumoll is a rather old, odd variety. Despite being native to the region of Catalonia, it was disregarded in general and especially so after Spain entered the EU in 1986 and local varieties were seen... more »

Dumb SUV driver wipes out old vines

by  |  11-03-2016

Last weekend, a group of retired Barcelonians, out on a weekend jaunt in an undoubtedly ridiculous SUV destroyed a number of old vines when they drove in to a field claiming that they were "looking... more »