Recaredo Serral del Vell 2017

All their wines are Brut Nature, and so is the 2017 Serral del Vell, a blend of 87% Xarel.lo and 13% Macabeo. For them, it was an earlier harvest but within the normal parameters. This is a single-vineyard wine from soils with a very high content of calcium carbonate (33% active limestone), which gives the wine a very lively palate with a clear salty twist. The first vintage of this wine was 2006 and was born with less Xarel.lo, but the percentage has grown over the years because it started with a more classical blend with close to 50% Macabeo. They look for the expression of the soil here, narrower and more direct, with more tension and with tons of elegance from the aging with the lees, very integrated and balanced, keeping the acidity. It developed an acute note of licorice with time in the glass. It was disgorged after 56 months sur lie, because demand outgrows supply. They have 47,000 bottles of this vintage, which should last them for two years, so the 2018 will have a longer aging in bottle when it's released.