Las Colinas del Ebro Syrah Garnacha 2008

Las Colinas del Ebro are a new line of wines inspired by the high altitude vines near the river Ebro, one of the great rivers of Europe and a profound influence on the landscape and history of northern Spain. Because of its strategic importance, the towns and hills of the Ebro staged the bloodiest battles of the Spanish civil war in the summer of 1938 and any visit to this region in southern Catalonia leaves one with an indelible sense of those tragic events. More cheerfully, this area is now a hot-spot for quality wine production and gastronomic creativity. The team responsible for these new wines are managing director of Bodegas Abanico, Rafael de Haan and technical director of Celler Batea, Luis Martin. They believe that the D.O. Terra Alta has a bright future as a region for quality wines and that the 2006 vintage was the right moment to start this new project. For both the white and red wines there was a search for vines aged over 100 years for the Garnacha and more than 30 years for the Syrah. Rigorous care of vineyards and small yields of flavourful grapes yields wines of the highest quality with a fruity, modern character which are still representative of their origin.