A wine that is much more than words

I meet the people from the Más que Palabras winery at the ViBa Fair in Manresa, where with some bacus –the coins authorized to taste them—you can explore the landscapes of the DO in a glass. But Mirko Raccini, its owner, an Italian who lives in Catalonia and speaks an enviable and polished Catalan, isn't there. He's at another fair. La Raíces del Vino, in Empordà. I'll have to talk about today's wine the next day. First, I try the Molt, a wine from the Más que Palabras Blancas winery, which contains 60% Picapoll (depending on the vintage), a bit of Mandón (white of noires) and a small touch of Sauvignon Blanc. They've been doing it for a long time, but it's changed. And tasting and tasting, I fall in love with the two varietals: the Mandón and the Picapoll. What we have in the glass today is the Picapoll. The white essence of the Pla de Bages DO. The black essence, of course, is its brother, the Mandón. The gateway, Picapollo and Mandón. Two recovered varieties.

What we have in the glass is the first vintage, 2023. It's the first time they've done it (the Mandón, too). "After the pandemic," Mirko tells me, "we planted another 25 hectares to have a lung of native varieties. We saw climate change coming; in 16 and 17 it was already very hot..." He tells me, of course, with the wisdom of winegrowers, that the local varieties, which perhaps were once abandoned, now demonstrate their great resilience. The estate is located in Canet de Fals, a small hamlet of Fonollosa, near Manresa, which couldn't be more beautiful.

A delicate wine

"We're very happy with the Mandón and the Picapoll, because they produce lower alcohol levels, even if it's very hot." In fact, today's Picapoll vintage is warm, yet it only has 12 degrees. "We did two harvests of this Picapoll, one earlier, to have acidity, and one later, to have alcohol and maturity. We blended them. It was a vintage in which we reached 30 degrees on two or three days. And yet, it has 12 degrees. But the heat reduced the acidity. Picapoll isn't the acidity of a Chardonnay, or a Riesling. But, whatever it is, it's very rounded, mineral, saline, very interesting, a very easy-drinking white for people who don't want powerful wines." It's true, it's a very delicate wine, perhaps because it's in a stainless steel tank and then aged in a small amphora.

The Picapoll's ripe white fruit stands out. It usually has white flowers and very delicate citrus notes. It's a fresh and elegant wine, which I would pair with sushi, due to its saltiness, with any raw, smooth food, with white meats, or with a soft, young cheese.

Mirko has been in the wine world for almost twenty years. He arrived in Catalonia in 2006. He studied sommelier and worked at the temple that is Can Ràfols dels Caus. Working with him at the winery is Queralt Orriols, the oenologist who creates a wine that is much more than words.