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Espelt, Empordà Pla De Gates Negre, 2023

Red Wine from Catalonia, Spain
$25.99
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This is Grenache for anyone who thinks Grenache means jammy and heavy. It comes from a windswept vineyard with the Mediterranean on three sides, and it's made in the lively, new-school style that's catching on across Spain, with fresh herbs and a salty, mineral finish. All the fruit comes from Mas Marés, Anna Espelt's personal 25-hectare project inside the Cap de Creus Nature Reserve. There, organically farmed vines grow in granite and sand among oak trees, pastures and wild herbs, and the near-constant wind is what keeps the wine so bright. Pla de Gates is a real spot on the estate's land, where the Espelts have put cows back out to graze. The cattle thin out the flammable scrub, cut the fire risk and feed the soil, which is the kind of thinking you'd expect from someone trained in habitat restoration. Anna's fruit is all picked by hand, then sorted once in the vineyard and again in the cellar. Empordà, in Catalonia's northeast corner, still flies under the radar, which is good news for anyone who wants a thoughtful Mediterranean red that overdelivers for what it is.

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More about Espelt

Espelt's Mas Marés vineyard is about as Mediterranean as wine gets: 25 hectares inside the Cap de Creus Nature Reserve, on the granite headland where the Pyrenees meet the sea. The vines sit 25 meters above sea level, the sea is close at hand, and the wind is a constant presence.

The Espelt family have grown grapes in the Empordà for three generations and built their own cellar in Vilajuïga in 2000. Anna Espelt studied habitat restoration and organic farming, joined in 2005 and now leads the estate. It is certified organic and farmed regeneratively, with vines sharing the land with oak trees, pasture and wild herbs. Standing stones on the property show people were living here more than 4,000 years ago.

The soils are sandy granite at Mas Marés, with slate elsewhere on the family's land, and the focus is the local Grenache family, called Lledoner here: Negre, Blanc and Roig. Grapes are picked by hand and fermented with native yeasts, then aged in neutral oak and concrete eggs. The result is fresh, herby, salty wine rather than heavy Grenache. The Pla de Gates red and white are the place to start.

Wine Details

  • Grape Variety

    Grenache

  • Vintage

    2023

  • Size

    750ml

  • Farming Practice

    Organic

  • Style

    Fruity

  • Sweetness

    Dry

  • Body

    Medium Bodied

Flatiron's Take

From the Importer

What Bowler Wine has to say about this wine:

Made from 100% Lledoner Negre, the local name for Garnacha in this part of Catalunya, Pla de Gates showcases the new-school style of Garnacha growing increasingly popular in Spain. Sourced entirely from fruit that Anna Espelt grows in granitic soils in her personal vineyard of Mas Marés, these organically farmed vines are surrounded on three sides by the Mediterranean and exposed to nearly constant winds from inland or from the sea.

Tasting Notes & Food Pairings

Perfect Pairings

Grilled lamb chops with rosemary and thyme; botifarra sausage with white beans; grilled octopus with smoked paprika and potatoes; pa amb tomàquet with jamón and Manchego; roast chicken with garlic and wild herbs.

Tasting Profile

Expect the fresher side of Grenache: red cherry and raspberry fruit alongside wild Mediterranean herbs like thyme and rosemary. Typically medium-bodied, with soft tannins and lively acidity, finishing dry with a savoury, saline, granite-edged minerality. Think closer to a juicy Beaujolais than the ripe, heavy Grenache many people expect.

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