Catalan Wines

Recaredo’s Turó d’en Mota

by  |  07-09-2015

It seems that despite visiting Recaredo several times, I keep forgetting to write about their top-end wine and property called, Turó d’en Mota. For anyone who visits Recaredo (and out of all the Cava makers... more »
Albert Costa observing a vine in the are of Meknès, Morocco

Young Priorat winemaker heads to Morocco

by  |  02-09-2015

“Farid, what’s this stick across my seat for?” “Oh that… it’s for the snakes. Unfortunately here in Morocco, they’re all poisonous but since we’re already at 42C this morning, I don’t think there’ll be any... more »

Spotlight on Xarel·lo

by  |  31-08-2015

While Xarel·lo (pronounced sha-rel-lu in Catalan) is a white grape widely planted in Catalonia, it is often easily dismissed as merely one part of the principal three grapes in the typical Cava blend. There are... more »

The new take on Castell of Cooperativa Falset Marçà

by  |  26-08-2015

Sometime back I received this set of samples from the Cooperative of Falset Marçà in Priorat who fall under the auspices of DO Montsant. For those unfamiliar with the cooperatives of the county of Priorat,... more »

In The Glass: Aixalà Alcait – Coster de l’Alzina 2011

by  |  11-08-2015

There seems to be a codified response to winemakers choosing a name for their wine. They go simple and call it “negre” “rouge” or “red”. They go brash and name it “cardinal zin” or “bitch”.... more »

Penedès, so fresh and so cold

by  |  04-08-2015

I’m not going out on a limb to say that we’ve had more than our share of hot weather this summer. I suppose it’s making up for the relatively mild summer last year. Given this,... more »

A taste of Lledoner Roig

by  |  28-07-2015

As is the case with many old European wine grapes, Grenache Gris has a number of synonyms but one of the names you very rarely hear is “Lledoner Roig”. By no means is this due... more »

An introduction to Montsant via Acústic

by  |  16-07-2015

Much as I previously wrote in An introduction to Empordà wines, it’s important to know those wines of a region which allow you a good gateway in to the region at large. Sure, finding less... more »

For a blind 100 points

by  |  11-07-2015

For those who may not be up-to-date on such things in the wine world, last week, the most recent batches of scores for The Wine Advocate came out for Spain. While many people refer to... more »

Tast del Decenni of 2005 in 2015

by  |  05-07-2015

As was the case last year, I was invited to the “Tast del Decenni” of the DOQ Priorat and DO Montsant in Falset. While from time to time gracious winemaking friends in the region will... more »