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.
Food Match: Cheese
2008 Terra Remota Clos Adrien, Empordà
( E40, 14.5%, El Celler Petit )Low-production, Syrah-based red with 10% Garnacha from one of the region’s outstanding producers. Herbal, still youthful nose, with sweet, savoury, liquorice and blackberry fruit, fresh acidity, medium weight tannins and a tarry smoky finish. Syrah, but with minerality underpinning the fruit. Complex and long.
2005 Castillo Perelada Finca Garbet, Empordà
( E100, 14%, El Celler Petit )Unusually for Finca Garbet, this is made from 100% Syrah (normally it contains some Cabernet). It’s a very impressive wine: wild and smoky, with freshness and minerality, well integrated tannins and a long, balanced finish. Very Syrah, with notes of iodine and liquorice and a firm finish. The only question mark is over the price.
2007 Mas Romeu Finca Malesa, Empordà
( E18, 14%, El Celler Petit )Thia is the personal project of Delfi Sanahuja, who makes the wine at nearby Castillo de Perelada. It’s an ambitious modern style with quite a bit of oak, but real freshness, vivacity and length. Minerally, zesty and well balanced with notes of spice, wild herbs, plum and red cherry fruit and medium weight tannins. Very stylish.
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.
2010 Terra Remota Caminante, Empordà
( E15, 14%, El Celler Petit )One of the most exciting white wines in Empordà, made by French couple Marc and Emma Bournazeau from a blend of Garnatxa Blanca, Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay. Deftly oaked, beautifully defined, with the three grapes stylishly intertwined. Honeysuckle, some spice, a dash of thyme and pear and long, granite-derived minerality. Right up there with some of the best white wines in Spain. An estate to watch.
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.
2005 Sinols Emporadlia Coromina, Empordà
( E9, 13.5%, El Celler Petit )An unusual wine: mature, unoaked Samsó (Carignan) that was fermented and aged in cement. It’s on the rustic side, with a hint of volatility, but there’s no denying that the wine is true to its varietal with chunky, slightly drying tannins but lots of gutsy personality.
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.
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.
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.
2011 Finest Côtes Catalanes Carignan, Roussillon
( £6.99, 13.5%, Tesco )I sometimes feel as if I’m the president, founder and only member of the Carignan appreciation society, which is strange, given how good this grape can taste, especially when its vines are old. That’s the case here in this chunky Roussillon red, sourced from bush vines close to the Pyrenees. It’s a big, bold, appropriately rustic number with notes of thyme, rosemary and pepper spice, a touch of sweetness, bags of black fruits and a volatile lift. In short, classic Carignan.