Catalan Wines

The wines of DO Pla de Bages for 2020

by  |  09-12-2020

For those who may not know it, DO Pla de Bages is Catalunya’s second-smallest denomination of origin (the first being DO Alella). How small does that make it? Well, it has 15 registered cellars, four... more »

Pre-release tasting of Terroir al Límit 2018 & thoughts on 2020

by  |  04-12-2020

A few weeks ago, Terroir al Límit owner, Dominik Huber invited me up to his cellar in Torroja del Priorat for a tasting with him and head winemaker, Tatjana Pećerić. We tasted through the as-of-yet... more »

2017 vs 2018 in Priorat via Mas Doix’s Salanques

by  |  23-11-2020

A typical question people often ask me is, was so-and-so a good year for wine? It makes sense as while you can make wine literally anywhere in the world, actually growing grapes is a touch... more »

The DO Montsant 2020 harvest comes to a close

by  |  23-10-2020

Essentially all the vineyards within the DO Montsant have been picked this year. According to their official statistics, only a handful in the north are still to arrive so in effect, the harvest has closed.... more »

New DOQ Priorat wineries to know, 2020 edition

by  |  19-10-2020

The wines being produced under the auspices of DOQ Priorat are always in flux and always evolving. They have to because the region from hence they issue forth grows ever more extreme while at the... more »

A farewell to beloved Barcelona wine bar, Monvínic

by  |  05-10-2020

Monvínic, one of the first truly-dedicated wine bars in Barcelona that was once hailed as the best wine bar in the world by a Wall Street Journal columnist, finally announced last week that they’ve closed... more »

Searching for Cinsault… in France

by  |  26-08-2020

Trying to grasp the world of wine is all about drawing parallels which is why I contend that the Southern French grape, Cinsault is the up-and-coming Malbec for a new age of wine drinking. What... more »
Photo from DOC Rioja

A better understanding of Rioja’s “Viñedos Singulares”

by  |  17-08-2020

In 2019, the first “Viñedos Singulares” or “single vineyards” in DOC Rioja were certified. This first batch saw 84 vineyards certified under the new scheme, covering 154ha, which I think by any measure would be... more »

The wines of DOQ Priorat in 2020

by  |  30-07-2020

Having written about the wines of Priorat for nearly a decade, some readers might wonder if I’m perhaps a touch bored of, you know, year in, year out tasting Grenache and Carignan wines from these... more »

DO Cava releases new zones, tweaks, & a fresh serving of brand-new names

by  |  23-07-2020

So, it took about two years. This was time DO Cava spent consulting and figuring out how to release a zone and subzone classification scheme. This is no small feat given that the idea is... more »