- Miquel Hudin
In 2022, Daphne acquired a 13-hectare parcel within the Paratge of Les Manyetes located at the southern edge of the village boundaries of Gratallops. Only 8.5 hectares are planted, with the rest comprised of olive trees or left wild. René Barbier planted the oldest vines, and when the site passed through successive owners, René continued to be involved in one fashion or another. Daphne’s interest in this site is the sense that its roughy six hectares of red varieties could potentially make a distinctive expression warranting an additional red cuvée, but for now, she’s including it in the blend for Laurel. If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably wondering about the math not mathing. The variance comprises 2.5 hectares of Garnacha Blanca, 0.46 hectares of Chenin Blanc, 0.28 hectares of Viognier, and a few rows of Moscatel. These vines were incidental to the purchase, and when presented with the rushed and complicated harvest in 2023, they were picked first, destemmed, and cooled for one day while Daphne scrambled to borrow a small manual press from Ester Nin and figure out which vessels she had free for fermentation and aging. Largely left alone until the conclusion of the harvest, Daphne thought that her first foray into making white wine would be unknown outside her cellar. Yet at every benchmark, the wine became increasingly expressive from blending through several months of resting after bottling showing the first glimpses of the unique terruño of Les Manyetes.
