Roqueta Origen opened its third winery in Batea in July 2013, a small but ambitious project in the DO Terra Alta with which to express "the identity of a territory, its landscape, its culture and its traditions", according to its manager, Ramon Roqueta . The new winery, LaFou Celler, was integrated into a stately home in the old town of Batea, Casa Figueras, built more than 250 years ago, even using stones and capitals from the town's old baroque church of Sant Miquel Arcàngel. The Roqueta family, from Bages, decided on Terra Alta after studying the possibility of investing in Priorat. The project began in 2007, with the acquisition of the first properties.
Today there are 60 hectares in Batea, of which 14.5 are vineyards. The success achieved with their first wines, with high scores in prestigious international guides, decided them to build new facilities. At the end of 2010, work began on a winery, integrated into the patio of Casa Figueras, where the first harvest was produced in 2011. Today, a decade after their commitment to Terra Alta, they have just opened their new tip of lance in whites, a very complex and kaleidoscopic white Garnacha without equal on the market that adds to its award-winning Els Amelers.
This is the LaFou de Rams 2018 white Grenache, a vineyard wine that “with the character typical of the winery's wines, with a fresh and elegant style, seeks to convey the maximum expression of the variety with which it is made and the characteristics of its vineyard of origin.” La Viña de Rams, where the grapes to make this white wine come from, was planted in 1966 and is located in the lowest part of their estate, 340 meters above sea level. The effect it receives from the summer sea breezes is greater in this location, greatly marking the freshness and preserving the acidity. Furthermore, its orientation and spaciousness allow it to benefit from all the hours of sunlight, favoring the ripening and concentration of the grapes. The DO Terra Alta described the 2018 harvest as “spectacular”, both from the point of view of quality and quantity, thanks mainly to the spring rains that helped keep the grapes in excellent condition until harvest.
A part of the wine was macerated with their skins. Once the fermentation had started, the must was separated into two containers: one part in first and third year French barrels of 300 liters capacity and lightly toasted, in contact with the lees for about 6 months, and the other in a steel tank. stainless. The other part of the wine is made as a breezed white wine: it is vinified as a red grape, with fermentation and skin maceration coexisting. A part of this brisado wine goes into a stainless steel tank and the other is kept in a 300-liter European oak barrel, with the brisado wines from other years, so that, later, a small part of this becomes part of LaFou of Rams.
When it comes to blending, according to the winery, “each of these four wines provides unique characteristics, each year in different proportions, seeking to enhance the expression of the vineyard and the landscape that surrounds it and of the white Grenache.” And it is added that the result is a wine “with a lot of race”, which rests in the cellar for a minimum of 30 months “to express itself with maximum splendor”. In fact, it has been aged for 5 long years in a Burgundy bottle.
Of this first vintage, only a limited edition of 1,020 bottles has been produced, which are mainly destined for the restaurant and hotel channel as well as some specialized stores. The winery warns that "the availability of this product is limited, so it cannot be purchased under any promotion or discount code." Ramon Roqueta affirms that LaFou de Rams 2018 is “a white wine with the essence of red.” And he also points out that he “continues to describe the long history of a land and a variety in which the aromas open towards balsamic notes that transform licorice into menthol and close again towards ripe notes of honey and dried fruit.
A range of aromas that make LaFou de Rams a multi-faceted wine that invites you not to miss any moment of its evolution.” They have created it, according to Ramon Roqueta, as a white “very inspired by traditions, the landscape and the Garnacha Blanca variety that I fell in love with from the first moment.” He wants to pay with it “a special tribute, with refinement, to the tradition and history of the world of wine in Terra Alta, with its breezes, oxidatives and long macerations.” At the same time, it stands out that they are recovering a breeze solera that will allow them to connect future vintages.
It is straw yellow in color with some golden tinge. It shows outstanding structure and complexity, with many layers. Dances with tasty opulence in the mouth. It is expressed with a glyceric texture (the work with the fine lees is evident), a tannic and toasted touch; and with notes that recall spring stone fruit, roasted apple with a pinch of honey and dried fruits (almonds) with a touch of infused aromatic herbs and vanilla. It also exhibits a note reminiscent of hydrocarbons and a notable final saline tip. With 13.5º alcohol and with the wood, which is evident, very well integrated. Unexpected freshness in a white wine with such long aging. It is a modern white Garnacha that comes from afar.
A rice with clams or a banda rice are the gastronomic proposals with which Ramon Roqueta likes to enjoy his wine. Also ideal to harmonize with typical local dishes such as haddock (cod) with olives from Terra Alta and even with country rice with extra virgin olive oil of the empeltre variety. It is also a good ally for a very lightly pickled crestó (lean meat lamb) or with a coc en pimentó (salted coke with red pepper and onion).
