Aires de Garbet, the most Mediterranean wine in the world

Since this AHORA kicks off summer today, with the added benefit that the luckiest ones will get their hands on beach sand, or on calm, sandwich-like docks, I thought the wine of the week should be a Mediterranean wine. And a very Mediterranean wine is Aires de Garbet, a wine from Delfí Sanahuja at Peralada Castle, which comes from Finca Garbet, one of the most beautiful estates in the world. In fact, a Mediterranean wine symposium was recently held in Peralada at the castle. Delfín did a tasting of wines we're familiar with, like the marvel filling our glass today, Aires de Garbet, and others that are new and that we'll have to try. Ephemeral, a 100% Monastrell. The Finca Garbet of our love, which, though it will be tough—it can't not wear it, perhaps...—is the emblem of the house. And El Garrigal, a wine they'll release in October that's 100% Cariñena. Aside from that, the tasting included the Ex Ex 13 (Ex Ex, which means "exceptional experience"), a red Garnacha. There were talks by great wine masters such as Josep Pitu Roca.

Today's Aires de Garbet is a 2020, the vintage currently on the market. It was a drought year, with high temperatures, but Delfín is very happy because, nevertheless, a wine with a lot of freshness came out. He likes very elegant, balanced wines, not overripe. And that's how they come out. Garnacha is a rather ripe variety; its pH—he tells me—is not very high, which is why it would be Garnacha. He searches for, and finds, the part of the variety, the part of Mediterranean wine. The estate, this beautiful estate, is 40 meters from the sea.

"We put second-wine oak in it," he says, meaning they use used casks that are one year old. "We don't want to mask what it is; we seek delicacy." And something worth highlighting, too, for the most fetishistic. This is the first vintage that a new winery debuts. It's the first harvest, the first Aires...

"We're happy with the way this winery works. We have all the resources, everything we need to make high-end wines." And in fact, visiting the winery is like visiting a temple. I've seen the feelings of wine tourists after the visit. It's a wine tourism experience, but an emotional one. Last year, they had 25,000 visitors.

With this wine, which is a must-try, Delfín seeks balance between the maturation of the skin and the sugars. The wine's alcohol content, given the region, is moderate. 14.5. Not the 15.5 you'd expect. And it's moderate because it's a Garnacha facing the Mediterranean Sea, a vineyard like an amphitheater that sees all the sunlight reflected in the sea. Today, wine lovers want finesse, not forcefulness. Perhaps in the glass and in life.

I wouldn't like to end without a few words from Delfín, which are a toast. This unique estate has four elements. The earth, with the slate, the slate. The fire, with the sun, which is light, which ravages the earth and, as we were saying, reflects the light of the sea. The air, hence the name: the north wind, the tramontana, and the sea wind, the marinade, refresh the vines. And the water, the sea water, thermoregulating and balsamic for the vines. Today's Aires de Garbet makes one imagine ancient civilizations, all raising a glass, from their port.

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