Cora Blanco, Loxarel 2020

Cora Blanco Loxarel, Penedes, aromatic, intense, organic white wine. This excellent, and reasonably priced white from Loxarel is made from Muscat and Xarel Lo (see what they did there…). It has exotic aromas such as lychee, an something vaguely reminiscent of a Pina Colada, while on the palate it is dry, refreshing, with great minerality which makes it much more interesting than your average bottle at this price. Cora comes from the Greek word meaning young virgin maiden.

Loxarel is one of the labels produced by Can Mayol, run by the Mitjan family.

For over a decade now they have farmed the vines organically and even use some biodynamic methods. Mitjan have even got some amphorae that they are experimenting with as part of their commitment to produce quality, minimal intervention wines. They keep animals, including chickens, a horse and a donkey named Garnatxa. The 14th century house which the estate is built around is not far from Vilafranca, and around half of the vines are here. The other half lie at 800 metres altitude, around half an hour away up an incredibly steep track! Things are kept simple and traditional here - you won't find state of the art machinery - instead they rely on smaller production that they can keep a close eye on, producing honest and approachable wines.