Aixalà i Alcait ‘Les Clivelles’ Blanc 2018

Location: Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

Winemaker: Jordi Aixalà, Sussi Alcait, Alzina Aixalà

Grapes: Macabeu, Garnatxa Blanca

Soil: llicorella (decomposed slate over reddish clay)

Winemaking: the fruit is pressed directly, fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel, and aged for 5 months in acacia barrels.

From us at M&L: A generation ago many people outside of Spain were very critical of the country’s white wines, save for sherry and Albariño. However, regions within the large nation have been quietly producing beautiful white wines from local grapes for generations.

White wine is a rarity in Priorat, accounting for a mere 5% of production in most years. However, encountering the best examples of white Priorat can be eye-opening.

Celler Aixalà i Alcait is Jordi Aixalà, Sussi Alcait, and their budding winemaker daughter, Alzina. Based in mountain village of Torroja del Priorat, they produce just 15,000 bottles of wine per year in a tiny garage winery, disproportionate in size to the exciting variety of wines and the importance of their project to the village.

Aixalà i Alcait’s vineyards and olive groves are all certified organic as a matter of principle: taking care of the health of the land is non-negotiable and a mission they are vocal about. Fermentation takes place in small 1000L stainless steel tanks, with aging in a variety of vessels. SO2 additions are strategic and low. ‘Natural’ wine is not a stylistic category to speak of in the Priorat, where the wines tend to be classically built for aging. Aixalà’s wines would certainly qualify, however, due to absence of additives (other than SO2)

‘Les Clivelles’ Blanc is a fragrant and floral white, with a delicately waxy texture, made of equal parts old-vine Macabeo and young-vine Grenache Blanc. Full of texture, but also full of energy, this is a white for ageing, or for drinking now with Catalan lentil soup or bouillabaisse.

Beeswax, meyer lemon, canteloupe, nervy at first sip but as it breathes opens into wild flowers, balsam, faint clove. Timeless, shimmering, man-on-wire beauty. A wine of admiration.