Bàrbara Forés Abrisa’t 2023

Bàrbara Forés is a family winery in Gandesa, within D.O. Terra Alta, with roots in the late 19th century when Rafael Ferrer Forés began making wine. It is run today by Carmen Ferrer and Manuel Sanmartín across 22 hectares that combine altitude, orientation and shade with organic farming. Abrisa't is a single varietal orange wine from Garnacha Blanca, the white grape Terra Alta is most known for. The grapes are macerated on their skins, then the wine spends nine months in clay jars. Clay, like amphorae, is porous, so the wine ages with slow, gentle oxygen exchange that builds an oxidative, savoury complexity without any wood flavour, while the extended skin contact draws firm tannin and phenolic grip. This is why the wine reads as structured rather than simply fruity. The altitude and varied orientation of the Terra Alta vineyards hold acidity and give the fruit definition. The wine pours a radiant golden amber. The nose shows quince and dried apricot, floral pollen and orange peel over an earthy, beeswax base. The palate is dry, textured and grippy, with skin tannin framing the fruit and an almond and honeyed savour on a long finish. Serve at 12 to 14 degrees in a wide glass. A wine for the table.