Six great wines made of endangered grapes by Carlos Delgado in El País

In an article signed by the journalist, writer and wine and food critic Carlos Delgado, in the section of gastronomy of El País, the critic emphasizes the effort made by some cellars to rescue and highlight the local grape varieties that bring uniqueness and quality to Spanish wines. Among all of them, he selects six wines, including Abadal Mandó.

In the author’s own words, it is about “recovering the past to beat the future”. As he notes, the country has a great native heritage, with over 400 varieties of grapes registered, most of which are forgotten or have almost disappeared “a treasure of our genetic diversity and a botanic wealth that offers not only personality and potential to our wines, but that can also be decisive to confront climate change, the main challenge that wine culture currently faces, since they tend to be varieties resistant to high temperatures, drought, plagues and illnesses”.

Regarding Abadal Mandó, made 100% from the recovered native variety Mandó, he emphasizes the oenological precision-elaboration with ageing in a fermentation tank and clay amphora for 12 months, where its personal profile is enriched, providing the wine with complexity and texture. A fruity red wine, in which the suggestive flowery perfumes are complemented with notes of undergrowth and balsamic freshness, with an elegant touch of spices and brioche. Finally, he notes that it is “stylized and that it leaves a long and sensual memory”.

Apart from the Mandó grape, he highlights other varieties from Catalonia, such as sumoll, picapoll, or pirene grapes, among others.

https://elpais.com/gastronomia/2023-06-02/seis-grandes-vinos-de-uvas-en-peligro-de-extincion.html