Winemaker Notes
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. While there are plenty of inexpensive, fruit-forward Garnachas coming from Spain, few have the depth of minerality and complexity found in this old-vine cuvée.
Spanish red wine is known for being bold, heady, rustic and age-worthy, Spain is truly a one-of-a-kind wine-producing nation. A great majority of the country is hot, arid and drought-ridden, and since irrigation has only been recently introduced and (controversially) accepted, viticulture has sustained—and flourished—only through a great understanding of Spain’s particular conditions. Large spacing between vines allows each enough resources to survive and as a result, the country has the most acreage under vine compared to any other country, but is usually third in production.
Of the Spanish red wines, the most planted and respected grape variety is Tempranillo, the star of Spain’s Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions. Priorat specializes in bold red blends, Jumilla has gained global recognition for its single varietal Monastrell and Utiel-Requena has garnered recent attention for its reds made of Bobal.