J.Eubank & L.P. Almazlinos Escollades 2019

Escollades is a field blend of Red Grenache, Viognier, Merlot, and Syrah sourced from the Escollades vineyard just outside Pinell de Brai, in the Terra Alta comarca of Tarragona, Catalonia. The vineyard is farmed by Josep Ramon Alabart. This is the debut vintage from Josh Eubank and Lara Peso Almazlinos, who otherwise operate Percy Selections, a natural wine importer distributing in California and New York.

Terra Alta sits at the southern edge of Catalonia, inland from the Ebro River, at elevations between 350 and 550 meters above sea level. Soils here are predominantly limestone and clay, poor in organic matter, with good drainage. The climate is a mix of Mediterranean and continental: long, hot, dry summers and cold winters, with the dry Mestral wind off the Ebro Valley keeping humidity low and disease pressure minimal — conditions well suited to low-intervention farming.

The blend is unconventional for Terra Alta. Incorporating Viognier alongside Syrah echoes the co-fermentation technique associated with Cote-Rotie in the Northern Rhone, where the aromatic white grape lifts color and adds floral character to the red. The addition of Merlot and Grenache rounds out the blend with fruit weight and structure. The wine is made with a natural, low-intervention approach consistent with Percy Selections' sourcing philosophy.

2019 was the first vintage produced under this label, making Escollades both an introduction to the project and a document of what the vineyard can do in the right hands.