Alella Wine Region Guide

Geography and terroir

Alella takes its name from a small town in Maresme, about half an hour up the coast from Barcelona. However, the appellation now extends across 31 municipalities in Maresme, Vallès Oriental, and Barcelonès. The vineyards extend from the Mediterranean-facing slopes of the Serralada Litoral into the more continental landscape of Vallès Oriental. The climate is unabashedly Mediterranean, with relatively mild winters and long, warm summers.

Variations in altitude and exposure engender a pleasing stylistic diversity in the wines. Inland vineyards in Vallès Oriental experience a more continental climate than the Mediterranean-facing vineyards of Maresme, often yielding fresher and more aromatic wines. Increasingly, winemakers produce wines of real concentration, balance, and structure from these superior terroirs.

Soil Variations and Wine Characteristics

Conversely, the oldest vineyards along the coast produce softer, less structured wines with lower acidity. In Maresme, many vineyards are rooted in pale, sandy sauló derived from decomposed granite. Vallès Oriental has a more varied mixture of deeper clay-loam, alluvial, and, on higher ground, granitic soils. The distinctive quality of the Alella terroir is the all-important topsoil, known as sauló in Catalan. This sandy, granite-based soil drains freely, contains little organic matter, and readily absorbs solar radiation. But Alella is a very heterogeneous appellation, producing a broad palate that includes zesty whites, aromatic rosé, potent reds, and a small volume of dessert wines.

Winemaking and regional classifications

You cannot pigeonhole the wines of this small but perfectly formed DO. That becomes all too apparent when tasting the portfolio of Celler Marfil, which carries forward the historic Marfil wines associated with Alella Vinícola and its origins in 1906. The range includes Pansa Blanca, Garnacha Blanca, sweet and fortified wines, and quality sparkling wines made under the Alella DOP. Many of the top white wines are single-varietal—and sometimes single-site—expressions of Pansa Blanca, the local name for Xarel·lo. In Alella’s sauló soils, the variety can produce fresh, structured whites with herbal, fennel and saline notes.

However, it also blends exceptionally well with Chardonnay, as local winegrowers have proven. Macabeo, Malvasia, Parellada, Picapoll Blanc, Garnacha Blanca, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are among the other authorized white varieties. Alella’s classic white blends and more modern varietal wines can offer fresh aromas, ripe fruit and considerable character at modest prices.

Robust Reds and Versatile Rosés

Red wines may combine Garnacha Tinta and Ull de Llebre—the local name for Tempranillo—with varieties including Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Monastrell, Sumoll Negre and Samsó. Pinot Noir can be surprisingly light and elegant, considering the warm Mediterranean climate. Elsewhere, red wines vary from the light and everyday to the thoroughly modern, barrel-aged, and powerful as local outfits continue to refine their winemaking style.

The DO regulations permit winemakers to produce white, rosé and red wines, as well as quality sparkling, semi-sparkling and traditional liqueur wines. The growing volume of Alella rosé is a boon for Barcelona’s thriving hospitality sector. In the summer, it really hits the spot.

The lowdown

In the late 20th century, few would have predicted that Alella could have a sustainable future as a niche wine producer on the fringes of Barcelona. Urban sprawl was gobbling up vineyards at lightning speed, as few growers could resist the lure of easy money in exchange for their land.

Yet while the area under vine is barely one-third of the acreage planted towards the end of the mid-1900s, Alella is far from an irrelevance to Catalunya’s wine industry. For one thing, a constant stream of eager visitors from the nearby capital provides an incentive to maintain the tradition of wine growing here. However, Alella is far from simply being an ersatz tourist enclave.

Alella’s modern survival

The real reason for the DO’s survival has been establishing markets outside Catalunya. Much credit goes to the family-owned winery Art Laietà, formerly known as Alta Alella, for raising awareness of the Alella brand. Its passionate owners, enologist Josep Maria Pujol-Busquets and his wife Cristina Guillén, purchased an estate in the beautiful Serralada de Marina Natural Park. The family planted their first vines in 1991, and the first vintage was released in 2001 to great acclaim. Today, this beautiful estate is fully certified as organic and produces a fantastic range of reds, whites, and Cava wines, which easily rival the best of their neighbors further south.

As Mark Twain might say,

“Reports of the death of Alella have been grossly exaggerated.”

Alella gastronomy

Catalans have truly mastered the art of fine gastronomy, so expect fresh ingredients, inventive combinations, sophisticated culinary techniques, and enough tapas to fill a subterranean cellar. Yet while there are excellent restaurants and bars to be found across this diverse region, nowhere can match Barcelona for variety and excitement. We, therefore, recommend that visitors to Alella head back to this seductive metropolis, where world-class chefs harness the best that Catalunya has to offer – farm to sea. Try the botifarra.

Catalan Gastronomy Guide: Read more