Herencia Altés 2022 Terre Alta Garnatxa

The Wine

This light-bodied, highly aromatic Garnatxa (the Catalan's regional spelling of Garnacha, aka Grenache) is first revealed by its appearance in the glass - light and bordering on transparent.  The wine is fruit-driven and straightforward and the very definition of a chillable red despite its 14.5% ABV, which is nicely balanced by a good, mouth-watering acidity.

Partly destemmed bunches are fermented with indigenous yeasts for 15 days prior to being raised in 5,000-liter Austrian foudres for three months. Delicious. It is dangerously easy to drink. 3,300 cases produced.

Pairings: Idiazabel (basque sheep's milk, a smoky/salty contrast to the wine's fruit), Ossau-Iraty (semi-firm sheep's milk, creamy), Tete de Moine (Swiss semi-hard cow's milk shaved into rosettes - see the cool tool sold here!)

The Winery

Terra Alta is a wine growing region found in the Catalunyan province of Tarragona. As is common here, the primary grape is Garnacha (Garnatxa) in both its white and red incarnations.

Herència Altés (literally, Old Inheritance) was founded in 2010 by Nuria Altes, a Terra Alta native, and Englishman Rafa De Haan. Together they farm 120 acres of vineyards, with half of them considered "old" (despite the lack of legal definition for that word).

Their entire acreage has been certified organic since 2018. Though their wines are always highly regarded, each vintage seems to push their creative winemaking skills as each new vintage is increasingly unpredictable. 

They now nickname each vintage according to the crises it brought - 2020 was 'the year of mildew', 2021 the year of snowstorm Filomena, 2022 an average year and 2023 the year of drought. So far, their solutions have surmounted the challenges, and we wish them luck for continued success.