Terra Vermella 2023

All jokes aside.

We’re talking about Terra Vermella, one of my all time favourites in our range. I’ve already explained why a few times: the Terra Vermella vineyard is right next to the Selma vineyard.

Not only because both wines are complex, slightly offbeat and beautiful with age and evolution, but also because I have a direct view over the vineyards from my small masia Can Xiretas in El Pla de Manlleu.

Terra Vermella is the lesser known of the two and is made from 100% Parellada Montonega, a unique variation of the well-known Parellada grape. In this region, at this altitude and especially on this terroir, Montonega develops a very distinctive style.

The older it gets, the more the typical “hydrocarburos” take over. So this is definitely not your classic fruity wine full of exotic flavours.

Quite the opposite in fact: Montonega is a rather neutral grape variety that mainly expresses its terroir. That is where all the minerality comes from.

And for some customers, this comparison apparently triggers an almost blind urge to hit the “buy button”.

But of course, this is Terra Vermella from El Pla de Manlleu, not Coche-Dury from Meursault. Read what it actually says first!!! (And only then hit the “buy button” 😉)

Some people go a step further and ask me what exactly those “hydrocarburos” or diesel aromas are, and where they come from.

And honestly, for someone who is not a chemist, ChatGPT can be pretty useful 😊:

“Hydrocarburos” is Spanish for hydrocarbons. These are chemical compounds made up only of: hydrogen (H) and carbon (C).

In wine, “hydrocarburos” often refers to a petrol or kerosene-like aroma, typically found in older Rieslings. This aroma mainly comes from a molecule called TDN. Some people find it wonderfully complex, others less so.

So what exactly is “TDN”?

TDN stands for: 1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene,  an aromatic molecule responsible for the typical petrol, kerosene, diesel, warm asphalt and “hydrocarbon” aromas sometimes found in aged Riesling.

How is TDN formed?  TDN is usually not very present in young wines. It develops during: bottle ageing, oxidative evolution and the breakdown of carotenoids (pigments in grapes).

Warm climates, strong sunlight and water stress often increase the TDN potential.

Mainly known in: Riesling (classic), but sometimes also in Semillon, Chenin blanc or aged Sauvignon blanc.

Interesting detail: People differ enormously in their sensitivity to TDN: some detect it at tiny concentrations, others barely notice it.

In quality wines: A small amount of TDN is often seen as complex, noble and typical of terroir or ageing.

End of the ChatGPT section.

But as you can see, people here still haven’t really heard about these characteristics in “Montonega”. There are simply so few wines on the market made from this grape variety that comparisons are difficult to make.

To be precise: I only know two of them: “Terra Vermella” and “Els Barbuts de Selma”, both coming from the same vineyard on the slopes of Selma.

The pioneers behind this grape variety and these vineyards are Ester and Jaume Nin, brother and sister. Ester is of course widely known as the oenologist with the highest number of 100/100 scores in Spain, especially in Priorat. But she originally comes from El Pla de Manlleu, where her brother Jaume still lives and takes care of the vineyards. Together with his friend and associate Jaume Bargans, he also produces Barbuts de Selma.