Recaredo Terrers 2020

Recaredo Terrers is born from a mosaic of family vineyards in the heart of the Penedès, in the Corpinnat territory, south of Barcelona. These Alt Penedès plots rest on highly calcareous, loamy soils, alternating well-drained areas higher up with deeper soils at the foot of the slope. They are farmed organically and biodynamically.

The grapes are harvested by hand. Fermentation takes place in stainless-steel tanks and used oak barrels, before a second fermentation in bottle using the traditional method, with organic must from the estate. A Brut Nature with no added sugar, the wine benefits from long ageing on the lees for 52 months in bottle, under natural cork. Riddling and disgorgement are done by hand, without freezing.

This wine reveals notes of ripe apple, yellow plum, citrus, dried flowers, fennel, toasted almond, brioche, caramel, crème brûlée, light smoke and chalky minerality. The palate is creamy and broad, enlivened by a very fine, perfectly integrated bead. Its lively acidity brings tension and freshness, while the dry, saline and persistent finish extends the toasty nuances.

The history of wine in Spain is so old that no one really knows who brought the first vines to the region. When the Phoenicians arrived some 3,000 years ago and founded the present-day cities of Cádiz and Jerez, viticulture was well established and Spanish wines were widely traded throughout the Mediterranean and North Africa. You could say that Spain is a wine miracle. After years on the sidelines of the fine wine world, it is now a major player. Investment and ambition in vineyards and wineries are resulting in increasingly rich, complex (often very high in alcohol) and spicy reds that are ever more popular with international consumers. Proud to have more land under vine than any other country, Spain is only just beginning to capitalise on this resource in a consistent way. Spain is an anarchic tangle of regions and sub-regions, just as its landscape is an anarchic tangle of incredibly rugged scenery. A glance at a map reveals the climatic diversity between Spain's many wine regions, from the green, rain-soaked vineyards of Galicia on the northern Atlantic coast to the sun-baked vineyards of the Mediterranean south-east. Spain's saving grace, as far as viticulture is concerned, is the average altitude of its vineyards, over 600 metres. Many Spanish vineyards therefore manage to produce grapes with good colour and acidity simply because night-time temperatures are relatively low and the grapes do not ripen until the end of a sufficiently long growing season. But there is real treasure to be found for those willing to dig, and now that a class of connoisseurs has developed in Spain, all kinds of ambitious investors have done their bit to change the image of Spanish wine. Today, a new generation of winemakers has quietly begun crafting spectacular wines and experimenting with grape varieties that would have been unthinkable until very recently. Wine remains an important commodity and an integral part of Spanish culture.