El Quintà Bàrbara Forés

If we were intending to find a white wine of sufficient importance and history to serve as a standard bearer for the Terra Alta DO, El Quintà de Bàrbara Forés would definitely be a strong candidate. Few wines unite elegance, complexity and a sense of terroir with such transparency.

The word its name derives from, quintà, is used in Catalan to denote a small group of lands cultivated by one single owner, as happens with the La Cometa and the El Coll de Batea vineyards, from which the grapes of vines over 60 years old are used to produce this wine. After a 24-hour maceration with skin contact and fermentation in large-capacity French barrels, El Quintà rounds off in the same oak with periodic pumping over for six months before being bottled.

In the glass, its straw colour is hypnotic and the golden glints invite immediate drinking. You get a whiff of El Quintà's aromas without even approaching the glass; the hints of white flowers, green melon and quince come out to meet you. A second swirl of the glass and yellow petals, peaches and fresh herbs are revealed. On the palate it's pure balance, offering breadth and depth in equal measures. The oily mouthfeel usually experienced in the best Garnacha Blancas reinforced by good work with the lees, joins a fresh verticality to constitute an intense, mineral and extremely elegant passage. It drifts away on an aniseed mist and a subtle herbaceous and spicy background.