I don’t believe in energies that go beyond the physical plane; I’m sorry, but I am sceptical about wine having a soul. However, I also know when I can perceive a place transmitting a special energy to me, provoking an emotional state of calm, tranquility, and peace through its wines. It is then that I question my convictions and declare myself agnostic. Vinyes Domènech is one of these places.
Situated in a spectacular amphitheatre in the middle of Montsant, in the heart of the Serra de Llabería natural park and at 400m (1,300ft) above sea level, it is totally isolated without a single house within a 4km (2.5-mile) radius, and here the vineyards mingle with the Mediterranean forest. It is the most botanical garden-like winery I know: holm oaks and pines appear on a mantle of autochthonous bushes of juniper, thyme, rosemary, thistle, fennel and mint. All of them enjoy the typical low-mountain, coastal Mediterranean climate.
![Teixar vineyard](https://cdn.cluboenologique.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/10163810/1-5.jpg)
It is here that Joan Ignasi Domènech and his wife Rita Nogueroles, together with their two sons Edgar and Marc, felt ‘a balance, a magnetism and a landscape that we had not found either in Priorat or in other areas of Montsant, with nature expressed at its maximum potential’. They left behind their environmental consultancy in Barcelona to create Vinyes Domènech, one of the most unique wineries in the world, near Joan’s hometown of Falset.
In 2002, the family also began its commitment to Garnacha, specifically the peluda clone, of which there are only 70ha in Catalonia. It is a more acidic variety of Garnacha, with thicker skin and greater aromatic intensity. It was a decision that no one understood at the time, when fashions leaned towards the international varieties.
![The family behind Teixar, Joan Ignasi Domenech and his wife Rita Nogueroles with sons Edgar and Marc](https://cdn.cluboenologique.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/10163812/2-6.jpg)
Their dedication to Garnacha extended beyond their own estate: in 2011, they founded the Terra de Garnatxes association to study and promote this variety. A result of its efforts was the analysis of 3,000 unoaked Garnacha wines from Sardinia, Navarra, Aragon, Roussillon and Catalonia to help define the aromatic characteristics of this variety. All of them had the following descriptors in common: red and black fruit, blood orange, balsamic notes, medicinal herbs, liquorice and plum.
It is a singular wine that reflects the biodiversity of its origin
By 2015, Vinyes Domènech’s Teixar – the winery’s top-tier estate wine, initially produced in 2004 soon after the founding of the estate – was the first 100% Garnacha wine to obtain the Vi de Finca Qualificada indication, the highest honour in Catalan wine. It is a single-vineyard wine produced from a 2.91ha plot on limestone soils. Grapes are fermented in old foudres with native yeasts and an ageing process that they deem ‘as gentle as possible’ and that lasts about 12 months.
As you will see in the tasting notes that follow, the Teixar style has been modified ever since. It started with foudres for fermentation and ageing, and the wines became more ethereal and delicate. Today, it is a singular wine that reflects the biodiversity of its origin, a marvel at around €60 retail price in Spain and which, as Joan Ignasi himself sums up, is ‘the legacy of our winemaking tradition of the Garnacha Peluda, which is now in the hands of our sons Edgar and Marc’.
A complete vertical tasting of Vinyes Domènech's Teixar
Producer | Name | Vintage | Region | Subregion | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2004
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2004 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC | |
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2005
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2005 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC | |
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2006
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2006 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC | |
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2007
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2007 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC | |
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2008
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2008 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC | |
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2009
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2009 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC | |
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2010
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2010 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC | |
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2011
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2011 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC | |
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2012
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2012 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC | |
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2013
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2013 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC | |
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2014
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2014 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC | |
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2015
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2015 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC | |
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2016
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2016 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC | |
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2017
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2017 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC | |
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2018
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2018 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC | |
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2019
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2019 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC | |
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2020
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2020 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC | |
Vinyes Domènech, Teixar 2021
Catalunya
, Montsant DOC
|
Vinyes Domènech | Teixar | 2021 | Catalunya | Montsant DOC |