While most people think the Priorat is synonymous with red wine, increasing awareness is being paid to the whites produced in the region. While red Priorat is generally all about Garnatxa and Carinyena, there is a wider variety of white grapes permitted in the DOQ: Garnatxa Blanca, Macabeu, Pedro Ximénez, Chenin Blanc, Muscat (of various sorts), Xarel.lo, and Picapoll. They can be found scattered throughout the vineyards in the region, and Joan Sangenís has a smattering of white varieties in his two best sites – Mas d’en Caçador and Mas d’en Compte. Mas d’en Compte Blanc is a blend of Garnatxa Blanca, Picapoll, and Xarel.lo grown on steep, northeast-facing slopes of schist. Despite an average age of 30 years old, these are low-yielding vines producing concentrated fruit with a distinctive minerality.
