The most complete happiness is combining Garnacha and Muscat of Alexandria

You might wonder, of course, why today's wine is called 30.70, and perhaps, upon reflection, you'll conclude that it describes a blend: 70% Garnacha Blanca and 30% Muscat of Alexandria. Let's pause for a moment to consider this variety. If you follow these pages, you'll already know. that in the Ampans Association, from BagesThey have a wine made from muscado From Alexandria. Joan Soler, an admired and renowned winemaker, always explains, regarding this Muscat from Ampans, that these are things of history. Just as a bridge "that has always been here" is the "Devil's Bridge," figs that come from very, very far away are "Moorish figs." Muscat doesn't come from Alexandria, but Alexandria seems "exotic" to us.

In the area where today's winery, Hugas de Batlle, is located, which is the Empordà, it is, of course, called "Muscat de Llançà," and on the other side of the Alberes mountains, it is vinified as a dry wine. This Muscat, this one, comes from a century-old vineyard. I emphasize: one hundred years old! It is the Falguera vineyard, in the interior of Colera. In fact, the winery's four vineyards are there, in the Molinars valley. "We like to say we're part of the maritime Albera, because that's where the Albera vines go to die," the very kind Esther Pujol tells me. At the winery, she does a little bit of everything: building customer loyalty, taking care of everything.

The winery's vineyards (a winery in the middle of Colera, which used to be a restaurant) are in a protected area. Full of ancient terraces and dry-stone walls, it's a thrilling sight for those of us—I include myself—who suffer from stone sickness. These are terraces from the 10th and 11th centuries that the people at the winery painstakingly reconstruct with historical passion. "We take care of the ones we've found..." With this, and with the fact that the vineyards are planted on slopes of up to 49% incline, they practice what we always call "heroic viticulture." Everything is done by hand. No tractor can climb these slopes. And now for the surprise. We're talking about altitude (there are vines at 160 meters), we're talking about the tramontana wind, which brings a refreshing breeze, but we're also talking about the vine closest to the sea. It's fifty meters from the Mediterranean. Sea and mountains, then. Salinity, wind, and slate soils. The vines suffer from thirst (there's no irrigation), but this translates into unique concentration.

Tropical notes

This blend, which you can't miss, will fill your nose with the full bloom of Muscado. A white flower, but also tropical notes, like passion fruit and lychee. On the palate, and this is how the master who created this gem intended it, Grenache predominates, and therefore, white fruits. It's a wine that fills your mouth, but when you take a sip, you notice the perfect acidity and freshness. I love this wine.

Once again, we have in our glass the vintage that's currently on the market, 2024, which is already a drought-stricken vintage. The Empordà region is perhaps experiencing this lack of water more than the area of today's wine, which we call "the Cap de Creus subzone." Colera, passing through Port de la Selva at Cap de Creus, is already a very dry area, and this hardship contributes to the quality of the grapes. But the added drought of this vintage doesn't help, because the quality was already there.

The project belongs to Edu Hugas de Batlle. A family project, which he leads. His grandfather owned land, and he, they say, helped him. In 2000, he wanted to make his own wine, proposed it to the family, and they decided to join in and help him. They acquired land in the Molinars Valley and transformed it into a vineyard. It's a small winery; they probably don't produce more than 30,000 bottles, but it's already a benchmark winery in the area, highly admired for its radical approach, its scientific rigor, and the touch of brilliant intuition that goes into what they do. Someone must say, "This will work!" And it does.

Enjoy it with rice dishes and fideuà, or even on its own. It's wonderful.