That is what it is sometimes called. Just take a look at the label.
Those little hands belong to Martí Albet, son of Josep María Albet, Spain’s organic wine pioneer.
It was also one of the first great wines in our range. It was produced for the first time in 1994, the year Martí was born. What memories! We were immediately won over. This was a truly outstanding wine, at a level we had rarely tasted at the time.
Josep Maria was often far ahead of his time. As early as the 1970s, he went against the current and began farming his vineyards organically, while the “modern” winemakers of the time were starting to use all kinds of new products against diseases and fungi. But that was something he absolutely refused to do.
He had always been stubborn. He lost many customers, but continued nonetheless, together with his younger brother Toni Albet.
Besides becoming good friends, the two also became our main supplier of organic wines.
La Buena Vida and Albet i Noya grew together…
I still remember tasting that first Reserva Martí 1994 very well. What a wine! Very Spanish, but already with a Bordeaux influence.
They were also among the first at the time to plant Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah.
I still open one from time to time, as I systematically kept the different vintages in my private cellar. And what a fantastic wine it has become with age. Truly beautiful.
The latest vintage recently arrived: 2021, a truly great year.
It is also the first time that the blend consists only of Cabernet and Merlot. The 2020 still contains some Syrah.
That is why it tastes like a great Bordeaux, but with that Mediterranean twist.
Today, the wine is made by Martí himself. He is now in his thirties and runs the estate together with his cousin Adrià. What a history!