2020 Herència Altés Garnatxa Blanca Terra Alta

Herència Altés is the project of talented winemaker Nuria Altés, who like many young Spanish vintners, comes from a family growing grapes for generations. Hidden in a remote corner of Catalunya, Herència Altés, is outside the village of Batea, in the Terra Alta DO (Denominación de Origen). Terra Alta is one of the largest wine-growing regions in Cataluyna and isn’t well known—something Nuria has set about changing. Growing up among the vines that her grandfather tended, Nuria has known these vineyards since her childhood and decided in 2010 to start purchasing grapes from her father to make her own personal wines. She is assisted by her partner Rafael de Haan, and together, they inaugurated a new cellar for the 2016 vintage located in her hometown of Batea.

Since 2010, Rafa and Nuria have slowly grown their property from 14 to 60 hectares (34.5 to 148 acres). They purchased their first vineyard, La Serra, in 2013, followed by Lo Grau and Xalamera in 2014 and 2015. Near the Garnacha’s birthplace in the neighboring province of Aragon, these sites are predominantly Garnatxa Blanca, Negra and Gris, planted primarily between 1900 and 1960. Old-vine Carinyena, locally called Samsó, is also present in their vineyards with small amounts of Syrah.

The soils around the village of Batea are referred to as Panal—chalky and sandy topsoil over deep, clay-limestone, all underpinned by limestone bedrock. Panal is naturally low in nutrients with a tremendous capacity to store water, which is important for the wines as the summers are warm and dry and almost always windy, alternating between the continental Cirç and the easterly Garbi bringing in humidity from the Mediterranean. This part of Terra Alta is so prone to these two winds that the area is famous for windmills that generate much of the region’s electricity in addition to growing grapes. At elevations ranging between 390 and 480 meters (1279.5 to 1575 feet) above sea level, the vineyards of Herència Altés benefit from a higher elevation than most of the rest of the DO. This allows for full maturation of the grapes at lower finished alcohol and higher acidity.

Grenache Blanc (called Garnatxa Blanca in Catalonia) is thought to have originated as a mutation of the red version of the grape in Spain. Then it spread across the Pyrenees to France where it found a second home in the Rhône valley. It is often blended in white and red wines from both Spain and France.

The Garnatxa Blanca is made from 100% Grenache Blanc grapes. Grapes from organically farmed vines that are both old and young are mixed together to make a complex, balanced white wine described by the winemaker as “…a fresh, clean and balanced wine, with a very expressive nose that awakens aromas of citrus, fruit and also Mediterranean herbs. On the palate it is very fresh, with a vibrant and very elegant acidity.”

Pair this wine with seafood, poultry, mature hard cheese, mild soft cheese, appetizers and snacks.