“Enric Soler is a specialist in Xarello, possibly the finest producer of this grape in the world!” - The Wine Advocate

Enric is something of a legend within the Catalonian wine scene, having established the Barcelona Wine Academy in the 1990s, where winemakers from all over Catalonia would show up to share ideas and seek advice. As well as this, he also worked in some of Spain's top restaurants and was crowned Spain's 'champion sommelier' in 1997. He then turned his hand to winemaking in 2004 after his grandfather passed away, leaving him the vineyards he had planted in 1945, and Enric now farms them organically and biodynamically, focusing on just one grape variety, Xarello. When we told another Catalonian winemaker that we were Enric’s UK importer, he was mightily impressed, which he thought best to illustrate by showing us a photograph of his dog, a dachshund, called Enric.

Enric's Xarello ‘Improvisacio’ 2023 is a fabulous rendition of this often-underrated variety and it plays like a clean guitar chord with no clumsy fingers muffling the strings, instead pressing down firmly on the frets: acidity, ripeness, concentration, varietal expression and length. Cool stone-fruits, orange blossom honey, sour pineapple and a raw almond feature subtly on the palate of this super stylish white. If you need a thumbnail sketch, imagine a Chablis made from lees-aged Albariño: cool, incisive, electric.

The grapes were sourced from an organically-farmed 1.3 hectare vineyard with vines between 45 and 65 years of age. It was fermented and aged for 8 months in Stockinger barrels and concrete eggs and only indigenous yeasts were used. If you like the ‘Louro’ Godello by Rafael Palacios, then this will be right in your wheelhouse. Whatever that means. 12.5% alc. 6,240 bottles produced. Biodynamically farmed. Drink now-2030.

Press reviews:

Tamlyn Currin for Jancis Robinson.com: “This might be the richest and least monastic vintage of Improvisació that I have tasted – although that’s not to say it isn’t, still, a cathedral carved from citrine and rock salt. It’s always been a wine that rewards sipping slowly and empirically over several days – like any broad, dramatic landscape shaped by micro iota, it’s the adjacency of the immense and the minute that creates the most thrilling shifts. It was fascinating to see how the flavours and structure deepened in tone and timbre over five days, but also how they intensified and then receding, one day flattening to blades and planes and certainty, the next arching and clenching into fists and whorls. The nose is, as always, smoky, but here and there glimmers of fennel pollen and lemon-balm flowers. The biggest difference for me is on the palate – ripe apricots every time I taste it. But being Xarello, it is a tidal wine. And some days it seems to dissolve in the mouth like an aspirin, changing from stevia-like sweetness to medicinal bitterness to bitter citrus to citrus sweetness. And then, another time, it tastes like white peaches behind a veil of salt. And then it twists back into bitterness, but this time with the fragrant tension and oily fragrance of lemon-peel oil. The length of the wine is unbelievable. You can still taste it 10 minutes later. Best when it’s not too cold. Best when it’s been open five days. Best with a great book, towering conversation, or silence. Drink now-2038.” 17.5 points

Tim Atkin MW: “Lemon pith, fennel, freshly cut grass and a tight, toastiness on the nose; subtle, but the intensity is there on the palate, driven by a core of vibrant acidity. Another fantastic Improvisacio. Drink now-2034.” 94 points

 The Wine Advocate: “The 2023 Improvisació is Xarello from three plots that total 1.3 hectares. It fermented and matured in Austrian oak vats and concrete eggs for nine months and is possibly the wine with more impact from the vintage. Every year, the colour of the label changes, and in 2023, it is a pale orange. The nose is still a little spicy, denoting youth and the effect of the élevage. But the wine is harmonious and complex and should be wonderful with a little more time in bottle. It comes in at 12.5% alcohol. It finishes chalky, dry and tasty. 6,240 bottles produced. Drink now-2031.” 93 points

Decanter (previous vintage): “One of Catalonia’s top white wine producers, Enric Soler has made a chalky, stony Xarello with fabulous energy. It comes from his two main parcels of 45- to 65-year-old vines in the Penedes, and is fermented and aged for eight months in Austrian Stockinger vats and concrete eggs. Lively citrus fruit drives this wine, while there is a hint of fennel that speaks to its Mediterranean origins. It is electric and taut, serious yet mouthwateringly moreish. Drink now-2029.“ 94 points

Customer reviews:

”I had a bottle last night - absolutely delicious!!” - Mr. M. G

“Absolutely fantastic.” - Mr S.C.

"Thank you for the prompt delivery of the wine ordered last week. The stand-out was the Improvisacio!" - Mr. D.R.