Les Sorts Blanc 2024

Les Sorts Blanc is made by Celler Masroig, a cooperative founded in 1917 and the largest winery in D.O. Montsant, the appellation that rings the Priorat hills in southern Catalonia. This is single varietal Garnacha Blanca from the steep slopes the region is known for, where poor, stony soils and a warm, dry Mediterranean climate ripen the grape to a full, generous white. Garnacha Blanca naturally carries weight and moderate acidity, and the site gives the wine its texture and its ripe fruit at 14 per cent. After fermentation the wine spends five months in French and American oak, a moderate span that adds structure and a light spice while the lees contact broadens the palate and the barrel allows a slow oxygen exchange that rounds the wine. The American oak lends a slightly sweeter vanilla and coconut edge alongside the tighter spice of the French wood. The wine is bright gold. The nose shows ripe white peach and pear with dried herbs, almond and a measured vanilla. The palate is dry and rounded, the oak and ripe fruit filling out a body that keeps a fresh citrus lift to the finish. Serve at 10 to 12 degrees.