This 100% Garnacha Blanca is a revelation and a bargain. Made on the doorstep of the Priorat zone famous for its extremely expensive dense reds, Etim Blanco 2005 Montsant is a full bodied, flavour-packed yet refreshing dry white that is reminiscent of one of Roussillon’s more successful white wines but rather more sprightly.
The producer is the local, rather magnificently Catalan-looking Falset co-op, Agricola Falset-Marça, whose late ![]()
picked white and top reds have received most praise in Spain. However, I was terribly impressed by this humble white (so humble it doesn’t even rate a mention on the co-op’s website). In a pretty ordinary bottle with its fruit locked in by a screwcap, it's extremely concentrated and herb-scented yet almost explosively full of fruit reminiscent of lime jujubes. It is quite serious enough to drink with food – should take all sorts of fusion foods in its stride – and yet its refreshment value is such that many will be tempted to serve it as an aperitif.
picked white and top reds have received most praise in Spain. However, I was terribly impressed by this humble white (so humble it doesn’t even rate a mention on the co-op’s website). In a pretty ordinary bottle with its fruit locked in by a screwcap, it's extremely concentrated and herb-scented yet almost explosively full of fruit reminiscent of lime jujubes. It is quite serious enough to drink with food – should take all sorts of fusion foods in its stride – and yet its refreshment value is such that many will be tempted to serve it as an aperitif.The wine is like a rather more sinewy, and much cheaper, version of the Celler Cal Pla, Mas d’en Compte Blanco 2005 Priorat described here. Both show that, just like the southern French schists of the Agly valley, this area can make great whites as well as reds.
Bibendum Wine are the UK importers who report that the wine is already stocked by DJ Foodfare in London (020 8748 5974), Polygon in Southampton (02380 228015), Whole Foods in Kensington (020 7368 4512) and Bentleys in Ludlow (01584 875520). Etim wines are quite widely available in Europe but I can’t see any sign of American retail stockists alas. I hope they exist as I'd like as many wine lovers as possible to discover this unusually revitalising Grenache Blanc which shows little sign of age even at more than two years old.
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