2021 Planetes de Nin

The 2021 Planetes de Nin Clàssic is a blend of 46% Garnacha, 25% Garnacha Peluda and 29% full-cluster Carignan, the blend they were aiming for and achieved in 2019. The wine has peppery and spicy notes, with a very fine thread and is super elegant on the palate. It's subtle, balanced and elegant, nuanced and insinuating. The wine spent 18 months in 3,200-liter oak foudre. It follows the style of 2019 and 2020. It has 13.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.2 and 5.4 grams of acidity. 14,660 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2023. Carles Ortiz and Ester Nin produce 30,000 bottles, 100% of them with grapes from their own vineyards. All of their vineyards are certified organic and biodynamic, but they still don't have the certification for the wines. 2021 was an atypical year, with a big snowstorm in January, a cooler year but not as much as 2013, 2010 or 2018, and they said it was a more Mediterranean version of 2020. They harvested late, the alcohol was lower (they had some difficulties to achieve the minimum alcohol required by the appellation in some wines), and the wines are fresher but the ripeness was good (looking at the polyphenols and so on). There will be a new Garnacha from young vines in La Coma d'en Romeu. They have been planting small plots (and replacing dead vines) in their old vineyards, a trend that I see in many producers as they have to get ready for the future; if you want old vines in 50 years from now, you have to plant them now! They are also extremely worried about the lack of water and have dug a well in their Planetes vineyard that gives them very little water, but at least it's something. Unfortunately, Cariñena Blanca, the white mutation of Cariñena, is still not approved by the Priorat appellation, mainly because it's a grape that delivers wines with moderate alcohol—a blessing in the warm climate, a grape resistant to drought and pat for the climate change—usually below what the appellation requires (13% for whites). They had applied for an exception to this rule for the wines produced with Cariñena Blanca to be allowed at 12.5% alcohol, but it was rejected. So, after 11 vintages, their white is still an experimental wine.

The 2021 Planetes Classic is a blend of 46% Garnatxa, 29% whole-cluster Cariñena and 25% destemmed Garnatxa Peluda. Garnet in hue, it offers a floral nose that fills the glass with violet and cherry notes, accompanied by a subtle hint of white pepper from the stems. On the palate, it’s dry, light and compact, delivering a refreshing, thirst-quenching mouthfeel with a lingering hint of blood orange. This is a joyful, light red wine.