Winemaker Notes
This is Xarel.lo that could easily be mistaken for Meursault and shows exactly how compelling the grape can be in the right hands. The grapes are picked, sorted, and then barrel fermented in a combination of new and used 300 liter French oak barrels using native yeast. Ageing, done with zero battonage, is carried out in the same barrels for 8 months.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2019 was drier and riper, and the 2019 Nun Vinya Dels Taus has a little more alcohol, 13%, and slightly lower acidity than the 2018 that I tasted next to it. The old vines are from a plot planted in 1945 that Soler works organically and biodynamically, and it delivered a normal crop in 2019. This fermented and matured in French oak barrels until bottling at the end of May after the harvest. The warm and dry year produced a more exuberant wine from these old vines, a wine that is energetic and young, balsamic and minty, with nuances and still in need of time in bottle. It's seamless, velvety and creamy, with ripe flavors and great length. This felt more Mediterranean, developing notes of fennel with time in the glass. 3,220 bottles produced. Best after 2023.
Primarily associated with the Penedès region of Spain, Xarel-lo plays an important role in most Cava blends along with Parellada and Macabeo. Prized for its high levels of acidity and polyphenols, Xarel-lo adds strength, body and a distinct greengage or earthy character to these blends. Somm Secret—Just a few miles northeast of Barcelona, Xarel-lo vineyards around the town of Alella produce highly regarded still wines with fresh lemon and stone fruit flavors.
A superior source of white grapes for the production of Spain’s prized sparkling wine, Cava, the Penedes region is part of Catalunya and sits just south of Barcelona. Medio Penedès is the most productive source of the Cava grapes, Macabeo, Xarel-lo, and Parellada. Penedes also grows Garnacha and Tempranillo (here called Ull de Llebre in Catalan), for high quality reds and rosès.