Country: Spain

92

2007 Roig Parals Camí de Cormes, Empordà

( E20, 15%, El Celler Petit )

If you want to taste really old vine Samsó (and we’re talking 120 years here), try this. Dense, complex, minerally and wild with freshness to balance the concentration and high alcohol. This comes from the plain, but tastes like a mountain wine, with sweet red fruits, a touch of volatility and appealing minerality. 

BuyDrinking window: 2012-15Similar Wines: Â£10-£20, 91-95, Spain, Red, Carignan
95

2008 Vinyes d'Olivardots 2.08, Empordà

( E35, 15%, El Celler Petit )

Sandy soils, low production, 100-year-old vines: essence of Samsó. Wow! Super dense, very complex, savoury, spicy, lovely fruit sweetness, fine tannins, subtle oak and a finish that lingers on the palate. Wild, Mediterranean herbs, some wood smoke, fresh acidity, liquorice and red and black fruits. A superb wine. 

BuyDrinking window: 2012-18Similar Wines: Â£30-£50, 91-95, Spain, Red, Carignan
90

2010 Clos d'Agon Amic, Empordà

( E14, 14.5%, El Celler Petit )

Rich, wild, slightly volatile notes on the nose, with sweet red and black fruits and a warm, palate-coating finish: it could only be Grenache. Or rather Garnatxa (along with Merlot, Cabernet and a few other things). Aromatic, very primary, with notes of liquorice and blackberry, smooth tannins and a long finish. Needs time. 

BuyDrinking window: 2012-15Similar Wines: Â£10-£20, 86-90, Spain, Red, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Merlot
93

2010 Terra Remota Camino, Empordà

( E14, 14.5%, El Celler Petit )

A fruit salad blend (if that doesn’t sound pejorative) of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha, Tempranillo and other varieties, this is another delicious release from this brilliant winery. It’s like a cross between a red Burgundy, a new wave Rioja and a Châteauneuf, with silky tannins, sweet raspberry and wild strawberry fruit, lovely oak integration and a lift of acidity and white pepper. Superb winemaking with noticeable French flair and finesse. 

BuyDrinking window: 2012-16Similar Wines: Â£10-£20, 91-95, Spain, Red, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Other Reds, Syrah/Shiraz, Tempranillo
89

2009 Mas Vida 32 Merlot, Empordà

( E11, 14.5%, El Celler Petit )

Merlot from Empordà? At 14.5%? It doesn’t sound promising. And yet this is a more than decent red showing the slight grassiness of the variety, even at higher alcohol levels. The finish is a little dry and hot, but there’s a freshness beneath it, with grainy tannins and textured, fruitcake notes. 

BuyDrinking window: 2012-15Similar Wines: Â£10-£20, 86-90, Spain, Red, Merlot
91

2011 Arché Pagès Satirs Blanc, Empordà

( E6, 13%, El Celler Petit )

Made by one of the best young growers in Empordà using only Macabeu, this is outstanding value at only E6 a bottle. It’s quite weighty for an unoaked style, capable of bottle age and great with food. Pear and some honey with refreshing lift from aciity a minerally undertone and a whiff of Mediterranean herbs.  

BuyDrinking window: 2012-14Similar Wines: Â£5-£10, 91-95, Spain, White, Macabeo
89

2011 Oliver Conti Treyu, Empordà

( E7, 12.5%, El Celler Petit )

It’s easy to judge the white wines from Oliver Conti too young, even this unoaked cuvée of Macebeu and Gewürztraminer. This combines perfume, spice, fresh acidity and a touch of grapeskin bitterness on the palate, underpinned by some creamy, lees-derived fatness. It’s an unusual wine, with the Gewürz adding some ginger spice to the Macabeu. Try cellaring it. 

BuyDrinking window: 2012-16Similar Wines: Â£5-£10, 86-90, Spain, White, Gewürztraminer, Macabeo
92

2011 Clos d'Agon Amic, Empordà

( E14, 13%, El Celler Petit )

Made by Peter Sisseck of Pingus in Ribera del Duero fame, this is a pure Garnatxa Blanca that justifies its growing reputation. This is a value for money partner to his more grown up Clos d’Agon Catalunya wines. Focused, intense, unoaked and very fresh, this chalky, almost Burgundian white is the perfect foil for the local Palamos seafood. 

BuyDrinking window: 2012-16Similar Wines: Â£10-£20, 91-95, Spain, White, Grenache Blanc
93

2010 Marti Fabra Masia Carreras Blanc, Empordà

( E13, 14.5%, El Celler Petit )

There’s clearly something special about the village of San Clement Sescebes (and not just as the place where lots of Spaniards did their military service) as it’s home to two of the region’s best producers (Terra Remota being the other one). This highly unusual blend of Garnatxa Blanca, Picapoll and Samsó (aka Carignan) is a big, umami-rich white with a dry finish, some tannin on the palate and masses of grip, density and flavour. A very serious bottle of white. 

BuyDrinking window: 2012-15Similar Wines: Â£10-£20, 91-95, Spain, White, Carignan, Grenache Blanc, Palomino Fino, Picpoul
90

2011 Mas Llunes Nívia, Empordà

( E8, 13.5%, El Celler Petit )

A wine that is a little too marked by oak at the moment, but has good underlying texture and concentration. Floral, saline and concentrated with toasty oak and good minerality. Needs a year or two in bottle, but I love the notes of fennel and wild rosemary and the strucuture and muscularity of the finish. 

BuyDrinking window: 2012-14Similar Wines: Â£5-£10, 86-90, Spain, White, Grenache Blanc
92

2011 Vinyes dels Aspres, Empordà

( E13, 14.5%, El Celler Petit )

Sourced from the frontier village of Cantallops, this is a rich, powerful, wild wine that is almost unruly on the nose and palate. Even for a young wine, this is starting to show secondary notes of honey and marzipan, but there’s massive concentration and acidity to back it up. A slow burner of a wine, very dense, minerally and herbal with a salty, food welcoming finish. 

BuyDrinking window: 2012-16Similar Wines: Â£10-£20, 96-100, Spain, White, Grenache Blanc