Torres Milmanda Chardonnay, Conca de Barbera DO

Description

Torres Milmanda Chardonnay is Miguel Torres’ top white wine, it is 100% Chardonnay from Conca de Barbera DO.

Familia Torres Wines has been making wine in the ancient Catalán town of Vilafranca del Penedès, southwest of Barcelona, since the 17th Century. It is this tradition combined with innovation, dynamism and commitment to quality that has put Torres firmly on the world map. They remain one of the largest family-owned and run wine companies in the world (there is also Miguel Torres Chile and Marimar Torres in California) and, under the stewardship of fourth-generation Miguel Torres they are committed to sustainable viticulture and green practices. Today Torres not only have vineyards in their home region of Penedes, but all over Spain in regions such as Priorat, Rioja and Rueda. In 2006 Torres was awarded European Winery of the Year in Wine Enthusiast’s Annual Wine Star Awards. The Torres family is also one of the founding members of Primum Familiae Vini.

Torres discovered that their historic 15 hectare highland estate of Milmanda, which is dominated by the castle that gives it its name, is where Chardonnay grows the very best of all their vineyards. Milmanda was part of a route of medieval castles that gave shelter to Christians during the time of the Reconquista. In the 12th century, peace came to these lands and vine-growing began anew. Torres Milmanda was first produced in the mid-1980s as a tribute to the Cistercian monks who came to the region from Burgundy, the home of Chardonnay.

Torres Milmanda Chardonnay is a single vineyard wine. The vines were planted in 1980 at an elevation of 500m. The Milmanda vineyard has deep silt-rich calcareous clay soils that are moderately well drained and have a very high water holding capacity. This encourages balanced vegetative growth in Chardonnay and produces wines that are very varietally expressive and well suited to barrel ageing. There are also reddish marl formations dating from the Oligocene period. The grapes are harvested by hand with a manual selection of grape clusters. After the harvest and pressing the wine undergoes 100% barrel fermentation followed by 50% malolactic fermentation. The wine is aged in 300 litre barrels (80% new oak) for 4–6 months. This is followed by 10 months of lees ageing in vats.