2019 Espelt Viticultors Garnatxa Negra, Empordà, Catalonia, Spain

ABOUT THIS WINE

The Garnatxa Negra from Espelt comes from their highest elevation vineyard, Rabós, tucked in the Alberes Nature Reserve Area. These are the oldest vines on the property with centenary Garnatxa Negra and Carinyena grow on sandy slate and granite soils.

Hand harvested, destemmed and crushed, 48 hour cold maceration, natural yeast fermentation in stainless steel tanks. Aged for 3 months in French Oak barrels.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Headed Anna Espelt, the inheritor of generations of grape growers in Empordà, the farming is certified organic, not only because it makes better wines, but because the vineyards are located on a mix of sandy granite, limestone and slate in and around several nature preserves in the area. Indigenous varieties and styles are promoted at Espelt from their fresh, crisp whites to their mineral and spicy reds before finishing on a pair of delectable fortified wines.

The vineyards at Espelt are planted in four uniquely different sites from the foothills of the Pyrenees to near the coast of the Mediterranean. At the highest elevation is Rabós, nestled in the mountains northwest of the winery. Here, on slate soils, Anna farms mainly old-vine Carinyena with a small amount of Lledonner which producer dense and powerful wines. Near the cellar are two sites called the Mountain and the Plain, or Pla. The Mountain is a young vineyard planted by Anna between 1998 and 2002 as part of her master’s thesis in viticulture. Long abandoned this granitic site in the hills behind the cellar was re-terraced and reclaimed by Anna who planted Syrah, Garnatxa, Mourvedre and Carinyena there. A short distance away is Pla which surrounds the cellar. This was the original vineyard on which Espelt was founded, and where they grow Garnatxa Blanca, Garnatxa and Macabeu. Finally there is Mas Marés, which as the name would suggest, is located close to the coast of the Mediterranean. Encircled by the Cap de Creus National Park, Mas Marés was where Anna first experimented with organic farming practices and where the combination of farming, granitic soils and thermal breezes from the Mediterranean make for fresh, lively and elegant wines.