Garnatxa, Garnacha

What... Is your favorite color? White.. no, red! Aaarrrrgh!
Have no fear, our dear Grenache by any other name comes in both colors. It grows especially well in Spain in the Terra Alta region of Catalonia where many of the vines are over 100 years old, yielding smaller amounts of more intensely flavored grapes. There Nuria Altes crafts the Herencia Altes wines with gentle hands to create extremely drinkable wines that we can't resist!
The 2012 Garnatxa Blanca Terra Alta is zippy and fresh with an appley nose and yummy pear and lemon flavors. It's a steal and something to buy by the case. The others we tasted from Herencia Altes are all made from 100% Garnatxa Negra and are aged, like the whites, in concrete tanks as to not interfere with the inherent finesse of the grapes from chalk bourne old vines. The reds ooze black and red berry fruit and have just enough acidity and tannins to keep them deliciously balanced. Look for the 2012 Garnatxa Negra, 2011 Benufet (also in white), and 2010 L'estel, all from Terra Alta and all great wines. Beg your local retailer and restaurant to buy them so you can, too...