Torres’ range of wines is truly eclectic and comprehensive, ranging from good value blends of indigenous grapes, to single varietal bottlings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and high end single vineyard field blends of indigenous grapes.

Catalonia as a region has seen some serious change starting from the 1950s, prior to which it originally made oxidized wines known as rancios and vinos de licor. Now, with Torres being a prime influence, Catalonia is making a huge range of wines, from ‘traditional’ to modern, using indigenous and international grapes and from large volume to small artisanal producers. Catalonia is truly a mash up of Spain’s schizophrenia.

This bottling is made with grapes grown in Conca de Barbera, a region just west of Penedes (where Torres is headquartered). Conca de Barbera is known mostly for producing high quality grapes for Cava producers. Soils here are chalky, alluvial ones over limestone bedrock. The region is sheltered by surrounding mountain ranges and produces wines mostly in a modern style, many from international grapes such as Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.

This wine, however, is not made with international grapes nor is it made in a cheap quaffing style like Cava. This is another beast. A blend of Monastrell, Garnacha Tinta, Garro, Samso, and Carinena, the Grans Muralles is an extremely unique sort of wine made from a single vineyard of the same name. The vineyard is 94 hectares, and 32 of these are dedicated to producing this wine. While the soils in this vineyard are slate and gravel, perhaps the most interesting part of the wine here are the indigenous grapes: Garro being a traditional Catalan grape that nearly disappeared, and the strange Samso, which according to Torres has an “intense pigment, good body and a magnificent structure.” Of course, the other three grapes are also indigenous to Spain, although have since spread internationally.

Putting glass to nose exposes bread, cherry, blackberry and deep scented violets. This is really pleasant and intriguing to smell. The palate was fantastic, with a quite soft and silky structure, lots of earth, underbrush and herbs, and a nice cherry and blackberry fruit presence. The wine is also very floral, and it is this wonderful aromatic component that is so enticing. I might describe this as a cross between a modern Rioja, a classic Bordeaux, and a bracing Southern Rhone/Languedoc wine – really an intriguing and lovely combination. I think wines like this are the exact sort of wines that make Spain exciting and that are a model of how a large producer can and should be a champion of the history and tradition of their region, not only keeping the indigenous grapes alive, but showing their full potential.

Excellent
$90 at BCLDB

The colour was a nice pretty purple, reminding me a little of one of the many beautiful sunsets that grace English Bay in Vancouver. The nose here was like raspberry and cherry candy, with vanilla custard poured on top. A very big and very oaky palate made this a cream puff kind of wine, with a deep and extracted quality to the fruit. This had tons of chocolate, cassis, cherry and raspberry as the driving force, but managed to retain a decent amount of acidity so as to avoid being overly sweet and flabby. At 30% Cabernet and 70% Monastrell (Mourvedre) there is almost no way to detect any varietal characteristics. This is not ideal for food because it is so extracted, candy-like and alcoholic (15.9%), but it is great for the style.

If I can be so bold, I would call this a Spanish version of Mollydooker’s Carnival of Love, which if you have tasted and enjoyed The Boxer is a much more complex and better structured version of that wine. In fact, I might even say that I like this better than the $100 (even in the US) bottle of Carnival of Love. I can see why Parker would give this a good score for if you are into the style, this is a great value wine (at least for those lucky US residents).

Very Good+
$45 at K&L