It’s been tricky for the organic winery of Vins de Taller as while they’re an Empordà winery they’re not a DO Empordà winery. This is due mostly to sitting just outside the geographical borders of the denomination but also because they grow some grapes that aren’t permitted within the denomination’s list.
Being outside the borders has allowed them a great deal of freedom, but at the same time, it means that they’ve had to define and explain their wines a good deal more. Last year though, they were outsiders no more as they joined the overarching DO Catalunya. While I have problems with this kitchen sink of a DO as it covers too many regions and styles and should be a “Vi de la Terra” certification (similar to “Vin de France”) instead, I feel like it’s worked to focus Vins de Taller in some regards. I say this because this wine is 100% Merlot and while I’m not of the, “I’m not drinking any fucking Merlot” camp, I still rarely find that it has a place in Catalonia outside of blends. But here, they’ve made it work quite well.
