If we were intending to find a white wine of sufficient importance and history to serve as a standard bearer for the Terra Alta DO, El Quintà de Bàrbara Forés would definitely be a strong candidate. Few wines unite elegance, complexity and a sense of terroir with such transparency.
The word its name derives from, quintà, is used in Catalan to denote a small group of lands cultivated by one single owner, as happens with the La Cometa and the El Coll de Batea vineyards, from which the grapes of vines over 60 years old are used to produce this wine. After a 24-hour maceration with skin contact and fermentation in large-capacity French barrels, El Quintà rounds off in the same oak with periodic pumping over for six months before being bottled.
In the glass, its straw colour is hypnotic and the golden glints invite immediate drinking. You get a whiff of El Quintà's aromas without even approaching the glass; the hints of white flowers, green melon and quince come out to meet you. A second swirl of the glass and yellow petals, peaches and fresh herbs are revealed. On the palate it's pure balance, offering breadth and depth in equal measures. The oily mouthfeel usually experienced in the best Garnacha Blancas reinforced by good work with the lees, joins a fresh verticality to constitute an intense, mineral and extremely elegant passage. It drifts away on an aniseed mist and a subtle herbaceous and spicy background.
What does this wine taste like?
View
Straw yellow / Bright / Clean
Bouquet
Fruit aromas / Ripe fruit / Apricot / Ripe cherry / Floral scents / White flowers / Spicy notes / Mineral notes
Grilled swordfish / Honey baked cod / Mushroom pasta
Ratings and awards
2018
15.5 JR
2014
91 PK
PK: ParkerJR: Jancis
robinson
Customer reviews
4.5/5
2 reviews
Vintage:
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by: Tim (15/08/2023) - Vintage 2021
0
Bags of character
Open nose, full bodied, warm pale amber colour. Hint of eucalyptus maybe. Great chilled with fish, chicken or vegetarian dishes.
by: Angel Martorell (24/04/2017) - Vintage 2015
0
Otro Terra Alta blanco de bandera!
Garnacha blanca de alta graduación domada con la crianza en barrica. Antiguamente, la Terra Alta era el principal proveedor de vinos blancos en las Tierras de Tarragona (a granel, por supuesto). Afortunadamente, de unos años para acá, cada vez mas bodegas de esa DO han sabido reinventarse y reconsquitar el terreno perdido, postulandose como una de las mejores zonas de vinos blancos de Cataluña. Un Quintà aromàtico, untuoso, bien estructurado, fresco y de excelente acidez... que estuvo de muerte con un rodaballo salvaje... Proveniente de la Depressió de Gandesa, para mi, la añada merece almenos una calificación no inferior a los 92 puntos.
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