Masia Carreras Blanc 2023

Masia Carreras Blanc is made by Celler Martí Fabra in D.O. Empordà, in the far north-east of Catalonia near the coast and the French border. It is an unusual blend that combines white and red varieties, White and Red Carignan and White and Red Grenache with a small share of Picapoll Blanc, all from old vines over 40 years old grown among natural vegetation. The Empordà climate is warm and swept by the Tramuntana wind, which keeps the fruit healthy and ripe, and the old vines give low yields and concentrated fruit, reflected in the full 14.5% alcohol. Each variety is vinified separately and fermented in French oak barrels, where the wine then rests for twelve months. That barrel fermentation and extended ageing, with slow oxygen exchange and lees contact, build a creamy weight and a nutty, savoury complexity around the ripe fruit. The colour is deep golden yellow. The nose shows white peach and apricot with citrus peel, vanilla, beeswax, almond and a note of dried herbs. The palate is dry, full and textured, the oak balanced by the wind-driven freshness, closing long and savoury. Serve at 11 to 13 degrees.