Familia Torres unveiled the latest vintages of its top single-vineyard wines in an exclusive tasting event held in London this week. These are the five wines that make up the Antologia Miguel Torres, a collection of unique wines that come from exceptional vineyards and historic estates in Catalonia. The wines have been crafted by the fourth and fifth generation of this legendary wine family: Mas La Plana 2019 and Reserva Real 2019, from Penedès, Milmanda 2020 and Grans Muralles 2019 from Conca de Barberà, and Mas de la Rosa 2020 from Priorat.

All five wines are imbued with great elegance and a distinct Mediterranean spirit, whilst reflecting their place of origin, with its particular soil and climate. “Our role as winemakers when making these wines is to let the vineyard express itself freely, revealing the vintage variations and finding the right balance to enhance the natural freshness and varietal character with very little intervention”, said Josep Sabarich, Chief Winemaker of Familia Torres.

The range tasting of the new vintages of Familia Torres’ top wines, which will be available in the United Kingdom this summer, was conducted by Josep Sabarich, who described each vineyard where they come from –all of them organic and regenerative– with a full background on the location, type of soil, and weather conditions, as well as the vinification methods used for each wine.

Milmanda 2020, Conca de Barberà

Milmanda made its debut in 1985 and is considered one of the great Spanish Chardonnays. It originates from the estate known as Castell de Milmanda (Milmanda Castle), which once belonged to the Cistercian monks and is close to the Monastery of Poblet. Its deep clay soils and a Mediterranean climate with a continental influence create the ideal conditions for Chardonnay to thrive.

2020 was a vintage marked by a rainy spring and mild temperatures throughout the year, including August, which allowed for slow, gradual ripening, resulting in healthy grapes that achieved an optimal level of maturity. The wine fermented and aged in 300-litre oak barrels and 1500-litre foudres for 4 months and was then transferred to stainless steel tanks where it stayed on its lees for 12 more months.

Mas La Plana 2019, Penedès

Mas La Plana is Familia Torres’ flagship wine. The very first vintage 1970 won the Paris Wine Olympics in 1979 and this determined the course for the winery’s production of quality wines. The vineyard with deep alluvial soils was planted between 1964 and 1979 and surrounds the family home, in Penedès.

2019 was a dry vintage with higher temperatures than normal and a very hot summer, which resulted in lower yields and emphasised the Mediterranean character of the wine. After a thorough selection of the best berries, each plot is fermented separately in stainless steel tanks or oak foudres with a very gentle extraction and then aged for 18 months in French oak barrels and 30 hl foudres.

Reserva Real 2019, Penedès

This wine of very limited production originates in a 4-hectare vineyard in the heart of Penedès, that is unique because of its slate soils, which are very rare in the region. This type of mineral soil provides great conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, which form the blend of this wine after a very strict sorting of the finest grapes.

The weather conditions are like those in Mas La Plana because of its proximity. The lack of rain and high temperatures in the summer caused a decrease in harvest yields. To compensate the warm harvest, Cabernet Franc was more prominent in the blend, which aged for 18 months in French oak barrels.

Grans Muralles 2019, Conca de Barberà

The name Grans Muralles, which means ‘Great walls’, comes from the walls that used to protect the Monastery of Poblet. What makes this wine unique is both the slate soils and the grape varieties used in the blend, which include the first Catalan ancestral varieties recovered by Familia Torres forty years ago. This wine was first crafted in 1996 and the blend included the ancestral Garró. From 2009 vintage, it also added another ancestral variety named Querol, to make up the final blend with Cariñena, Garnacha and Monastrell.

2019 vintage in this region was also determined by the lack of rain and intense heatwaves which moved the harvest forward, allowing for the grapes to reach its optimal maturation point. This translates in very prominent fruity aromas in the wine. Each variety is vinified in different ways, using different kinds of tanks or vats, in several sizes, and the length of ageing also varies depending on the personality of each variety. The average ageing is 18 months in French oak barriques and foudres.

Mas de la Rosa 2020, Priorat

Mas de la Rosa is the most exclusive of all Familia Torres wines and springs from the personal initiative of Miguel Torres Maczassek, fifth generation of the Torres family, who sought to capture the singular personality of this small vineyard in Priorat. It is an ancient vineyard of slate soils (called Llicorella in Catalan), planted over 80 years ago on steep hillsides, and one of the first historical wine estates in Porrera. Its location, elevation and orientation bring a natural coolness which conveys great finesse and elegance in the wine.

2020 is the fifth vintage of this exceptional wine that is a genuine expression of this beautiful spot. It was a rainy year, with moderate temperatures in spring and a warm, dry summer. This resulted in good maturity levels and a natural freshness in the wine, which aged in a 1000-liter new French oak foudre for 19 months.