Subtil 2019

Recaredo Subtil comes from a group of the estate's Xarel·lo plots, within the finca del Roure, in the Catalan Penedès. This family vineyard is part of the Corpinnat territory, the historic cradle of the region's great sparkling wines. The vines are farmed organically and biodynamically, following secano (dry-farmed) viticulture, without irrigation.

The grapes are picked by hand, then vinified at the estate in stainless-steel tanks and previously used oak barrels. The second fermentation takes place in bottle using the traditional method, with must from the estate's own vines. A Brut Nature with no added sugar, the wine is aged on the lees in bottle for at least 36 months, under natural cork. Riddling on pupitres and disgorgement are done by hand.

This wine reveals notes of apricot, citron, quince paste, baked apple, lemon, white flowers, fennel, honey, fresh butter, toasted almond, pastry and limestone. The palate, carried by fine, perfectly integrated bubbles, is broad, creamy and vibrant, with taut acidity, a savoury mineral backbone and a long, fresh, delicately toasty finish.

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.