Elitia White DO Emporda Solera

Elitia White is born in Vilamaniscle, in the Empordà appellation, in north-eastern Catalonia. The village nestles at around 300 metres above sea level in the Albera massif, which separates Spain from France, some twenty kilometres from the Mediterranean. The grapes come from two small, very steep plots in the La Irola lieu-dit, planted with bush-trained Grenache Blanc more than eighty years ago on slate soils. Swept by the tramontane wind, these certified organic old vines give very low yields.

The bunches are hand-harvested into small crates after a long period of drying on the vine, until early October. After 24 to 48 hours of skin maceration, the must ferments spontaneously. At 7% alcohol, fermentation is stopped by chilling and the addition of grape spirit, which brings the wine to 15.5%, with no added sulphites. Half of the wine then ages for twenty-four months in demijohns, outdoors, and the other half in a fourteen-year-old solera, before blending.

This wine reveals notes of walnut, honey, candied orange peel, dried apricot, dried fig, quince compote, dried flowers and currant. Beneath an amber colour, the nose combines dried fruit, candied citrus and honeyed notes, the signature of long oxidative ageing. The palate is unctuous and sweet, without heaviness, carried by lovely tension. The fresh, sweet finish lingers long on walnut and honey. Serve chilled, at around 7–8 °C.

The history of wine in Spain is so ancient that no one really knows who first brought the vines to the region. By the time the Phoenicians arrived some 3,000 years ago and founded the present-day cities of Cádiz and Jerez, viticulture was already well established, and Spanish wines were widely traded throughout the Mediterranean and North Africa. You could say that Spain is a winemaking miracle. After years on the sidelines of the world of fine wines, it is now a major player. Investment and ambition in vineyards and wineries are resulting in increasingly rich, complex (often high in alcohol), and spicy reds that are gaining popularity with international consumers. Proud to have more land dedicated to vines than any other country, Spain is only now beginning to capitalize on this resource in a consistent way. Spain is a chaotic jumble of regions and subregions, much like its landscape is a chaotic jumble of incredibly rugged scenery. A glance at a map reveals the climatic diversity among Spain's many wine regions, from the lush, green vineyards of Galicia on the northern Atlantic coast to the parched vineyards of the southeastern Mediterranean. Spain's saving grace for viticulture is the average altitude of its vineyards, which is over 600 meters. Many Spanish vineyards are thus able to produce grapes with good color and acidity simply because nighttime temperatures are relatively low and the grapes don't ripen until after a sufficiently long growing season. But there is a real treasure trove to be found for those willing to dig, and now that a class of connoisseurs has developed in Spain, all sorts of ambitious investors have done their part to change the image of Spanish wine. Today, a new generation of winemakers has quietly begun to craft spectacular wines and experiment with grape varieties that would have been unthinkable not so long ago. Wine remains an important commodity and an integral part of Spanish culture.