Enric Soler
Enric Soler won Spain’s Sommelier championship in 1997 and eventually took over the vineyard that was planted in 1945 by his grandfather. His subtle, elegant wine is the fruit of a family plot of some of the oldest xarel•lo vines in the world, biodynamically farmed, bush-trained, and draped in a carpet of thick, indigenous ground cover. He is a minimalist in the cellar, leaving the grapes to reflect their beautiful provenance. Since his first vintage in 2004, Enric’s wines have defined classic, and helped establish xarel•lo’s reputation as a world-class varietal.
"Enric's work shows us a riveting portrait of xarel.lo as a fresh, civilized varietal with subtle floral nuance, spectacular length, and enthralling silky texture." -Joan Gómez Pallarès, Vinos Naturales en España
Wines
Espenyalluchs
Varietal: Xarel-lo
Color: White
Farming Practice: Biodynamic
Biodynamic. Espenyalluchs is a 1 ha vineyard sourced from massale selections from the Nun vineyard. It’s a cool site at high altitude (300 m) on steep slopes at the limit of where Xarel.lo can ripen in Alt Penedès. The vineyard faces northeast which gives an even longer hang time while preserving acidity in the fruit. Spontaneou fermentation then aged on the lees in a combination of concrete eggs and used French oak.
Improvisacio
Varietal: Xarel-lo
Color: White
Farming Practice: Biodynamic
Biodynamic. 40-65 year-old Xarel.lo, grown in bush vines in calcareous clay @ 260m. Spontaneous fermentation and ageing a mix of used French oak (2nd, 3rd, and 4th year) and concrete egss. No battonage. Bottled with minimal SO2.
Nun
Varietal: Xarel-lo
Color: White
Farming Practice: Biodynamic
Biodynamic. 68 year-old Xarel.lo, sand, clay, and limestone soils @ 260 m. The Nun vineyar, only 0.78 ha, has been farmed organically and biodynamically since 2005. This is Xarel.lo that could easily be mistaken for Meursault and shows exactly how compelling the grape can be in the right hands. The grapes are picked, sorted, and then barrel fermented in a combination of new and used 300 liter French oak barrels using native yeast. Ageing, done with zero battonage, is carried out in the same barrels for 8 months. 8 barrels produced (240 cs)