Castell d'Encús - Taleia 2020

'2020 was a cooler year that allowed them to produce wines in the style they want to do, like the 2020 Taleia, which has lower alcohol and more acidity than the 2019, a warmer vintage that I tasted next to this. It's very young, clean, subtle and a little shy but with crystalline purity and focus, a sharp mouthfeel and a bone-dry finish. The inspiration here is the whites from Sancerre; this is made with a majority of Sauvignon Blanc with some Semillon from vines planted in 2003, but the character of the Sauvignon Blanc is quite subtle. It has 12.65% alcohol and a pH of 3.0 with 6.5 grams of acidity. It fermented with indigenous yeasts, part in new oak barrels and the rest in small stainless steel vats and stone pools, where it matured with the lees for some six months. 9,700 bottles and 100 magnums were filled in November 2021.'

Castell d'Encús is the personal project of winemaker Raül Bobet in the Costers del Segre appellation. He planted new vineyards at high altitude—over 1,000 meters above sea level—and hence in a fresher zone, and those are coming into production starting with the 2020 vintage. He now works 22 hectares of vineyards that are over 15 years old and a further six hectares from the younger plantings, all in the village of Talarn. He produces 90,000 bottles of very high quality wines.