Spain — wine

Empordà

Catalonia's northernmost wine appellation, occupying the Cap de Creus peninsula and the Empordà plain between the French border and the Mediterranean coast, swept by the tramuntana and garbí winds that moderate temperatures and prevent the humidity that would otherwise encourage disease. Ancient Garnacha and Carignan vines from the region's granite and schist soils produce wines of coastal Mediterranean character — aromatic, mineral, and often lightly structured with the freshness of the sea. The region is also home to Clos Mogador's Manyetes and other cult natural wine producers drawn by the wild, windswept terroir.

Year Rating Notes
2021 Ideal tramuntana wind conditions preserving freshness. Old-vine Garnacha and Carignan of exceptional mineral purity.
2020 Good vintage across the region. Coastal influence particularly beneficial for aromatic white varieties.
2019 Outstanding vintage — long Mediterranean summer with beneficial wind cooling. Wines of great depth and freshness.
2018 Classic Empordà vintage with characteristic coastal minerality.
2017 One of the decade's finest — concentrated, mineral wines with excellent longevity.