When tasting wines for the Montsant book there were thankfully many surprises unearthed. For a region that just a few years ago was written off as “basically a cheap Priorat”, it was exciting to see that so many good wines were to be found and that were emblematic of the region and a defined style. One of these was the Teixar from Vinyes Domènech. A masterful wine of mostly “Hairy” Grenache, successive tastings of different vintages showed that this wine owns its space and is one of those truly stellar gems of Catalan winemaking.
Naturally it comes of no surprise that it is now the fourth certified “Vi de finca” in Catalonia. If this terminology is unfamiliar, that’s not a surprise. In the rest of Spain it’s called “Vino de pago” (although the two systems are separate) and essentially, it’s a wine that has been produced for at least 10 years under the same name completely sourced from a single property and of high quality. That’s of course the quick version. The longer version if a bit more intricate.
Suffice to say, this mark is somewhat akin to Grand Cru in France although a bit different. Regardless it is one of the highest certifications to be found in Spain or Catalonia and Teixar is the first to receive it in DO Montsant. The other three are from two in neighboring DOQ Priorat (Vall Llach’s Mas de las Rosa and the Clos Mogador) and then a curious vineyard in Penedès owned by Torres called Jean Leon.
The Teixar marks a wonderful addition to this group and we look forward to the vintages to come.
