Cart
0 items
No products found...
Wish List
items
You need to be logged in to use this feature...
Login
Log in if you have an account
Register
Having an account with us will allow you to check out faster in the future, store multiple addresses, view and track your orders in your account, and more.
22 Oct 2020 | Daniel Manion

The Intriguing Nas del Gegant--How I Came to Love Natural Wines

In January of 2019 I was just 21 years old and began a semester abroad in Barcelona. At this point, most of my wine experiences were restricted to over-oaked grocery store Chardonnay and massive California Cabernet Sauvignon. My first night in Barcelona I was by myself, in a city I had never visited before, with no international data plan. Somehow the stars aligned that night and through an Instagram post in my hotel room I learned that two old friends from high school were also in Barcelona at that time on vacation.

We decided to meet up for drinks at a bar they wanted to try called Bar Brutal. After making my way through the gothic quarter without a map, I  finally managed to make my way inside the bar to see them. I was instantly intoxicated by the lively energy, music, and aromas coming from this establishment. The bar had a small menu of some of the best food I have come to taste in my life including succulent braised beef, charcuterie, and grilled octopus. Their wine menu, however, was as thick as a bible and all of their wines were natural.

I had heard of natural wines before, but I had never tried one and I wasn’t sure what differentiated them from conventional, commercial wines. After talking with their approachable sommelier, I had decided I wanted to try something local, a natural Catalan wine. The wine she brought out changed the way I perceived wine and sparked a passion that eventually led me to work at The Wine Country.

Never before had I tasted a wine with so much vibrant energy, this was a living wine.

After that night I frequented the bar many more times and found myself constantly coming back to that same bottle. The wine was called Nas del Gegant, a red field blend, led by Garnatxa Negra and Merlot, produced by friend-of-the-bar Ramon Escoda’s label Escoda-Sanahuja. I didn’t realize at that time that I was fortunate enough to be at the epicenter of one of the world's leading natural wine communities, drinking wine from one of the co-founders of Brutal Wine Co. and organizer of Spain’s natural wine fair, H20.

When my semester came to an end and back home in Southern California, I began to shop at a couple of stores selling natural wine, including The Wine Country. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried, I was not able to find that bottle of Nas del Gegant.  Being raised in an already globalized world, it was beyond frustrating that I could not get my hands on a bottle. The distribution for their wines in the United Sates was practically non-existent.

Luckily, through a new importer, I am not only able to get a couple bottles for myself, but I get to share this wine with all of you. All of the estate's wines come from a biodynamically farmed vineyard with no SO2 additions at bottling.

We currently have in stock one wine from this producer, all-natural and all-inspiring:

2019 Els Bassots - Chenin Blanc $27.99

Be the first to comment...
Leave a comment