Two weeks ago, I was at Enric Soler, our guru of Mediterranean white wines, and above all, “El Rey del Xarel.lo”,
one of Catalunya’s most emblematic grape varieties.
(By the way, great videos on Instagram from this visit!!) Click here
As always, we started by tasting the new vintages. And once again, the 2023s are outstanding across the board.
Perfectly balanced, fullness and acidity in complete harmony. Simply wonderful.
Enric is best known for his cult wine NUN.
A top-tier white wine that sells out faster every year, and one that you should definitely reserve if you want to secure a few bottles.
But as is often the case with small estates known for one iconic wine, the other wines are harder to sell.
And that is often completely unjustified.
And this brings me to my main point: Enric’s “smaller” wine is the “Improvisació”.
And to be honest, the only thing that changes every year is the color of the label. Everything else is close to perfection,
just as with all of Enric’s wines.
This Xarel.lo does not come from a single vineyard,
like the NUN Vinya dels Taus,
or his other top wine, the Espenyalluchs,
but rather from multiple vineyards.
All biodynamically farmed.
Please note: production is very limited here as well.
In total, there are just under 2 hectares of Xarel.lo vineyards,
between 40 and 60 years old.
Unlike the NUN and the Espenyalluchs, Improvisació is not aged in oak (or only partially, depending on the vintage) but in a concrete egg.
Moreover, this is his most affordable wine. Still not an everyday wine price-wise, but about half the cost of its big brother NUN.
You’d think this would be a recipe for commercial success, right?
Well, no. This is always the hardest wine to sell, as it remains in the shadow of its two famous siblings, NUN and Espenyalluchs.
So, with this mailing, I want to bring Improvisació into the spotlight. I even asked Enric if I could taste one of the first vintages.
Exciting!
So, we pulled out the
Improvisació 2009
(label in “Yves Klein blue”) from his cellar.
And, unsurprisingly for me, the wine was fantastic,
still youthful in attack and finish.
It has at least another 10 years ahead of it. Powerful and full-bodied, yet with beautiful acidity,
perfectly balanced and aging gracefully.
Delicious!
I don’t need to tell you that it turned into a great evening, especially since we were joined by Albert Jané, from Acústic Celler.
This weekend, we’re putting Enric’s top wines in the spotlight, but I still want to give you the chance to taste this fantastic Improvisació.
We still have 100 bottles of the 2022. And since this wine needs some time, you’d be better off securing these last bottles of the 2022
rather than waiting for the 2023 to be released this weekend
(though of course, you can do that too… 😉 ).
Don’t say I didn’t give you the chance…