March 06, 2014
Spain's Secret: Terra Alta and Vinos Pinol

The Piñol family has been making wine for four generations in the Terra Alta region, a small DO at the southern tip of Catalonia, Spain. The family is devoted to expressing the heritage and terroir of this neighbor to Priorat, and is one of the few wineries making wine from the Morenillo grape, a virtually extinct indigenous varietal. And the result is more than mere novelty.

Morenillo is a thin-skinned, late ripening grape that expresses terroir as well as Pinot Noir and is capable of great depths of flavor. Vinos Piñol’s Finca Morenillo 2010 has a black plum color that radiates with cherry highlights in the glass. Grown at 400 meters on 75-year-old vines, the wine is concentrated and medium weight. The nose is caramelized with hints of vanilla, mushroom, chalkiness, and a lively earthy funk. It gives way to a palate of cherries, milk chocolate, and nutmeg. It’s very smooth, but has nice firm tannins and a long finish on a cola note. Only 50 cases of this wine are produced, and it’s continually won scores of 90+ from Tanzer, Parker, and other wine press since its first vintage in 2009. This rare wine is not to be missed.

Founded in 1945 by Josep Arufi, his granddaughter Josefina Piñol and her son Juanjo Galcera Piñol are now at the helm of Vinos Piñol. Though deeply tied to tradition, their winemaking practice is very up-to-date: their vineyards are certified organic, and they practice dry farming and cultivate low yields to enhance the concentration in grapes.

The cellar is located in Batea, a small medieval town of about 2,000 people. The region is 45 miles south of Barcelona, in the high mountains of Tarragona. In fact, it’s the highest DO in Catalonia. It experiences a similar, though drier and warmer, Mediterranean climate to neighboring Priorat, but the soil is predominantly limestone instead of slate. This translates into an elegant chalky minerality in the wines and a distinct vinous identity for this region. A dry wind called el Mestral helps keep humidity at bay. The wines here tend to have greater weight and ripeness than Priorat and Montsant.

Aside from Morenillo, Piñol makes blended reds, whites, and dessert wines. The Portal Roble 2010 is an estate-bottled blend of 50 percent Garnacha, plus Carignan, Merlot, Syrah, and Tempranillo. A Semicrianza, it’s aged for 12 months in barrel. In the glass, it shows a rich vampiric red, with a velourlike texture. The nose is bright with blackberries and currants. The palate exudes notes of baking spice, soft rose petals, and slightly sweet tobacco leaf. The mouthfeel is smooth, with chalky tannins and a long finish on a note of blackberry. Pair with hearty fare such as lamb stew, Manchego, burgers, or carne asada burritos.

Piñol’s Carignan-dominant blend is called L’Avi Arrufi, or grandfather Arrufi—a nod to the founder. It’s aged for 14 months in French, American, and Hungarian oak and has a decided power to it—this wine will drink well for the long haul. It’s dark and inky, and needs a good decant. Its nose is spicy and earthy, with notes of baking spice, black plum, violet, and tobacco. Once it opens up, there are also notes of vanilla, which linger on the finish. The tannins are smooth and the acids are high. This wine wants to be drunk next to a big hunk of meat, unadulterated by anything but olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Though growing conditions are ripe for rich, complex wines, the fact that most of it is consumed locally keeps the prices reasonable. Wines from this region are a stellar deal. Terra Alta is a well-kept secret, with a winemaking tradition that dates back to the second- or third-century Romans. This mountainous enclave of small villages boasts such natural beauty that it was featured in several Picasso paintings. Some of the area’s cooperative wineries were designed by Cesar Martinell, a student of Gaudí, and bring a wave of modernist architecture to the landscape. Vinos Piñol is an excellent entry to this captivating region, with powerful, complex wines that are nothing short of hedonistic.