Garnacha old vine technique: Aragón and Priorat

Aragón and Catalonia, Spain

Garnacha (Grenache) is the world's second most planted red grape variety and Spain's most planted — and nowhere is its quality potential better expressed than in the ancient vine sites of Aragón (Campo de Borja, Calatayud, Cariñena, Terra Alta) and Catalonia's Priorat. Old-vine Garnacha (vines 50-120+ years old) from these sites produces wines of extraordinary concentration from tiny yields — sometimes only 500-800g of grapes per vine — with a character of ripe red berry, Mediterranean herbs, dried meat, and mineral warmth that younger vine examples never achieve. The combination of Garnacha's naturally high alcohol potential, the hot, dry continental climate of inland Spain, and the yield-restricting effect of extreme vine age creates wines that are simultaneously powerful and surprisingly elegant — the iron fist in a velvet glove of Spanish wine.

Not yet written for this entry.

Not yet written for this entry.