2019 Harvest Report Familia Torres estates in Catalonia

Miguel Torres Maczassek at Castell de la Bleda, in the Penedès, the estate used to grow the Moneu variety

The 2019 harvest in Catalonia was excellent, although less fruitful than last year. After eight weeks of intense work, we finished the harvest on October 18th with our ancestral varieties planted in the Penedès and the old Mas de la Rosa vineyard in Priorat. The year benefited from stable weather that allowed the grapes to stay healthy, although the lack of rain over the whole growing cycle meant the vineyard yield was around 20 % lower overall, affecting the areas in southern Catalonia in particular. Still, the quality was excellent and our expectations were met on the different estates. The first white wines of 2019 show good acidity, freshness, and good aromatic potential. The reds are very fruity, with good balance and persistence.

Miguel Torres Maczassek 5th generation Torres Family

1 Penedès

The 2019 harvest took place on the usual dates for the Penedès, similar to last year, with fairly mild temperatures throughout the entire growing cycle and low rainfall throughout the entire year. These conditions mean that the majority of the varieties had lower yields; only the late ripening varieties maintained the normal levels since the rainfall at the beginning of September enabled them to recover.

It was a dry year in general with rather mild temperatures. After a fairly dry winter with normal temperatures, spring was rainy and cool, giving way to a very dry summer with moderate temperatures and some peaks of heat during the last week of June and the month of July. These conditions led to a clear setback in the early ripening varieties and which were less pronounced in the late ripening varieties, although they all ripened well and stayed healthy, which is the most important part.

By area, this year we achieved the optimal level of ripeness in all areas of the Penedès, unlike last year when there was some difficulty in the area of Alts d’Ancosa. Throughout the region, the grapes were harvested in a good state of health but with a lower yield than last year. By varieties, those with a short cycle, such as Chardonnay and Moscatel de Frontignac, were harvested in their optimal state of ripeness, while medium-cycle varieties such as Xarel·lo and Merlot ripened more slowly, achieving good aromatic and skin ripeness. The late varieties, such as Parellada and Cabernet, on the other hand, ripened slowly with balance and good acidity.

We began the harvest on August 26th, nearly the same date as last year, with the first Chardonnay vineyards in the warmer areas of the Penedès. “The mild The first reds did not arrive until September 4th, one week earlier than temperatures in 2018, and began with the Tempranillo, followed by some Merlot from the warmer areas. We harvested the Parellada on October 11th and the and lack final Cabernet a few days later. We finished the harvest in the Penedès of rainfall on October 15th with the recovered ancestral varieties Forcada and Moneu, as has been the case since we began harvesting these varieties; contributed this shows they are able to handle climate change. to the quality and good In terms of the wines, we can say that the Penedès whites enjoy good aromatic intensity and great acidity on the palate, while the reds are health status fruity with a superb balance on the palate thanks to the good phenolic of the grapes” ripeness.

2 Harvest Report 2019 l Torres Family Estates in Catalonia Our estates

Mas La Plana (Turons de Vilafranca sub-area)

We started the harvest on this estate on September 26th, one day later than Soils Of alluvial origin, yellowish last year, but this time we began with a plot with younger vines. We then brown in colour, deep and well stopped and did not start harvesting again until October 3rd, beginning with drained with moderate water the lower part of the estate, with the plot we call La Teula, followed by the retention capabilities. Formed plots in the upper part, without stopping in between. by layers of gravel, sand and interspersed with clay. The grapes were very healthy in all the plots, although yields were slightly lower than in recent years. When we tasted the grapes, we noticed the skin of the berries was slightly thicker and more turgid than in other years. The result is a wine with good color, very fresh and fruity aromas, and elegant tannins. 45-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon vine

Castell de la Bleda (Turons de Vilafranca sub-area)

This was the third harvest of the ancestral variety Moneu at Castell de la Bleda. We learn a little more about this native Penedès variety every year, and we look for the interaction between grapes, soil, and production, to be able to express the subtlety and fineness of the landscape. As this was the third year, the output was a little more varied, allowing us to establish three differentiated areas and adapt the production method in each area selected.

Harvest Report 2019 l Torres Family Estates in Catalonia 3 Soils calcareous clay, alluvial. We began on September 21st, on similar dates to last year and with similar It is a typical Penedès soil that is yields as well. From the first area harvested, we have obtained light, made up of fine materials from balanced wines that are very smooth. We harvested the other two areas the Pleistocene Era (Quaternary). on October 15th, finishing the harvest on this estate with them, two weeks later than in 2018. On one hand, the old gobelet-trained plot ripened with some difficulty, as has been happening every year, and we had to do an exhaustive selection in the vineyard. This allowed us to bring in the grapes with good health status in general. The wines obtained have a fresh, smooth character.

On the other hand, the Can Vidal plot entered production this year and posed a small challenge due to being affected by the heat wave in July that damaged some of the grapes and leaves. This forced us to balance the fruit load per vine in order to reach an optimal level of ripeness, although it should be noted that the vines were in good health up to the time of harvest. The wines from this plot show good acidity and balance overall.

Moneu harvest at Castell de la Bleda

Les Arnes (Costers de l’Anoia sub-area)

We began the harvest this year with the Merlot (last year it was Cabernet Franc) on September 24th, two days before last year, and we moved on to the Cabernet Sauvignon two days later. We finished with the Cabernet Franc on October 2nd. The harvest was average in terms of yield compared to last year for the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot varieties, while the yield for the Cabernet Franc was slightly higher and of exceptional quality.

4 Harvest Report 2019 l Torres Family Estates in Catalonia The three varieties that make up our Reserva Real blend enjoyed excellent Soils made up of slate from health. Ripening took place in a slow and measured way, with cooler the Silurian era (Paleozoic) and nights than in other years, and the summer heat waves did not end up unique in the whole Penedès affecting the vines. It did not rain during the entire ripening period, so the region, the soil is characterised by weather had no influence on deciding when to harvest this year. being shallow and stoney, dark in colour and with good drainage. The wines show very good acidity and moderate levels of alcohol.

Fransola (Alts d’Ancosa sub-area)

The Fransola estate, located at over 500 meters above sea level, is one of our most important estates for white wine production. We grow three varieties here: The Sauvignon Blanc, which is used to make Fransola; the Riesling for Waltraud; and Forcada, our ancestral variety white.

The harvest on this estate was marked by a significant setback due to milder temperatures throughout the entire growing cycle. Following a fairly dry winter, the growing cycle began with some rainfall and cooler temperatures. The summer was dry in general and with moderate temperatures, with some isolated days of intense heat during the month of July. The grapes ripened slowly and regularly and the optimal degree of ripeness was achieved in all three varieties. Harvesting Forcada in front of Mas Palau

We began the harvest on September 10th, like last year, with the Riesling followed by the Chardonnay. On September 16th we harvested the Sauvignon Blanc from the La Creu plot and we finished the harvest on October 15th, with the Forcada, one month later than the other two varieties(!). Soils Deep, chalky clay of a In terms of the wines, they stand out in general for being aromatic, reddish color with moderate to with very fresh and fruity aromas. The excellent acidity and balance are good drainage and a high water prominent on the palate thanks to the mild temperatures during the retention capacity. It is made up entire growing cycle. of Eocene (Tertiary) clays.

Harvest Report 2019 l Torres Family Estates in Catalonia 5 Priorat

In Priorat, the 2019 harvest was characterized by a slightly longer than average growing cycle, a gradual and consistent ripening period without any acceleration caused by high temperatures, and excellent grape health, thanks to weather conditions that did not encourage the development of fungal diseases.

“The harvest The weather this year stood out because the end of the winter and was the start of the growing cycle had average rainfall that was somewhat lower than average; moreover the end of the growing cycle was marked particularly by a spring and start of summer that also had very little rainfall and short in terms very warm temperatures. In the last week of June, we had a heat wave with temperatures over 40 °C on four consecutive days and relative of grape humidity below 10 %. The Cariñena grapes suffered in particular during quantity, this episode of extreme heat and some berries ended up becoming but at the dehydrated, even though they were a few weeks away from veraison.

same time Thanks to the fact that the months of July and August were not of excellent particularly warm, the ripening period went at a slow but constant quality” pace, making it possible to reach the end of August with the vine leaves suffering very little from drying, something that is so common in Priorat in years of extreme heat and drought.

We had two episodes of rain at the start of September that were very well received – even though volumes of water were insignificant – as this helped to mitigate the effects of the drought that had built up over the course of the year. The month of September was characterized by moderate temperatures with quite a few days feeling the influence of dry, cold wind, which contributed to an excellent end to the ripening, balancing the phenolic ripeness with the concentration of sugars in the flesh.

In the area of El Lloar/Bellmunt de Priorat and El Molar, the warmest area in the appellation, we reached the end of August with the ripening of the earliest varieties slightly later than the average for recent years and with very few signs of dehydration of the berries. In this area, we began the harvest on September 6th with the Garnacha Tinta, around four or five days later than the average for the past five years. We harvested the Syrah as well as the Garnacha Tinta between September 9th and 18th, while the Cariñena from the young vines in this area was harvested Soils made up of slate from between September 18th and 26th. We harvested the batches of Cariñena the Carboniferous (Paleozoic) era, from old vines, used for the wine Perpetual, between September 28th the soils are typically shallow, and October 1st. In the case of the old vines, the harvest date was with good drainage and very brought forward around five or six days compared to the average, with little water retention. the intention of making a more elegant, balanced, and fresh wine.

6 Harvest Report 2019 l Torres Family Estates in Catalonia The final days of September and, especially, the first two weeks of October were warmer than normal, accelerating the final stretch of the ripening in the vineyards in the area of Porrera. We harvested the Garnacha Tinta between October 1st and 8th, followed by the batches of Cariñena. The old vines (planted before 1945), most of which are Cariñena, were harvested between October 11th and 12th. The last of these old vines was our iconic Mas de la Rosa estate, which we harvested on October 15th, concluding the 2019 harvest in Priorat.

Due to the weather conditions, the 2019 harvest was particularly short in terms of grape quantity, but at the same time of excellent quality. This translates into aromatically clean wines that are very expressive, where the variety gives the best of itself. We can define the wines as excellent on the palate as well since the consistent, balanced ripening contributed to very high-quality phenolic ripening.

Harvesting on the terraces of El Lloar

Harvest Report 2019 l Torres Family Estates in Catalonia 7 Mas de la Rosa (Porrera)

We did several days of work with mules on the Mas de la Rosa estate during the winter. By doing so, we sought to uphold tradition with the classic way of working in the region and at the same time manage to prevent the effects of erosion that are usually evident in these vineyards planted on costers (slopes). Due to the steep slope of the estate and the soil type, the effects of the rain mean there is significant erosion, but thanks to this age-old way of working it has been possible to substantially alleviate this problem. Our aim is to keep pooling resources so the work in this vineyard is done in a manual, ecological, and traditional way. Heroic harvesting on the Mas de La Rosa estate

Els Tossals (Porrera)

We have been acquiring small plots in the El Tossals area of Porrera and have already amassed around 20 hectares. This is the highest vineyard in Priorat with llicorella (slate) soil, standing at 746 meters above sea level. Last year, we planted 300 Cariñena, Garnacha, Garró, and Picapoll gobelet- trained vines to study how they adapt at this altitude and the conditions under which they can withstand unpredictable weather events. We will plant another hectare in early 2020. This is a long-term project designed to cope with climate change.

8 Harvest Report 2019 l Torres Family Estates in Catalonia Conca de Barberà

The year in Conca de Barberà was characterized by being dry in general “The grapes with fairly mild temperatures. Following a somewhat dry winter with ripened normal temperatures, the spring was rainier and cooler. Summer went back to being fairly dry with moderate temperatures and some peaks of slowly and heat during the month of July. Thanks to an August that was milder than regularly and usual, ripening took place slowly and regularly and the grapes reached the optimal level of ripeness and perfect health status. We can say that reached the it was a good vintage in general, both for the early varieties such as optimal level Chardonnay, as well as for the late varieties such as Cariñena. of ripeness and perfect health Milmanda status”

We began the harvest on the Milmanda estate on September 6th, with the first Chardonnay grapes from the youngest plots used to make Sons de Prades, a few days earlier than last year, which had started very late. The most qualitative plots were Llarga 1 and Llarga 3.5. The grapes had a perfect health status in general and optimal ripeness to give more emphasis to the acidity.

We decided to harvest the Llarga 4 and Llarga 3 plots, used to make Milmanda, on September 12th, following one last visit to the estate and a grape tasting Soils deep calcareous-clay in the vineyard itself. The health status of the grapes was also faultless and, soils, rich in silts, with moderate thanks to the good weather conditions, the ripening was very regular and drainage and a very high water reached the ideal condition with a perfect balance between alcohol content retention capacity. They are and acidity. The white wines are very aromatic and fresh, with good acidity formed from reddish marls of on the palate. Oligocene origin.

Milmanda Castle Chardonnay

Harvest Report 2019 l Torres Family Estates in Catalonia 9 Muralles

Soils deep and stony, they have The heat wave in July caused some plant stress on the Muralles estate, been formed by layers of slate limiting the growth of the bunches, which was beneficial for the quality of gravel and paleozoic granite. the red grapes. Moreover, the temperature during harvest was lower than They have rapid drainage and in other years, allowing the red wines to have good acidity. a low water retention capacity. We began the harvest on September 14th with the ancestral variety Querol that is part of the blend for our Grans Muralles. This was followed by the Garnacha, which we were able to harvest in a perfect state of ripeness, although it had less vigor than other years and the berries were smaller in general. The weather then continued to be dry, with mild temperatures, unlike last year when they were higher. This allowed us to harvest the Cariñena in early October, followed by the Garró, and we finished the harvest on October 11th with the Monastrell that was also in a perfect state of ripeness.

As for the wines from this estate, they have very elegant fruit, with good aromatic intensity and fine balance on the palate.

Harvest on the Muralles estate, where the walls that protected Poblet Monastery still stand

10 Harvest Report 2019 l Torres Family Estates in Catalonia Costers del Segre

Purgatori (Les Garrigues sub-area)

On the Purgatori estate, the 2019 harvest year was marked by the severe “The harvest in drought over the entire growing cycle and the high temperatures, especially Les Garrigues at the end of June and beginning of July. The harvest period continued with the same trend, but with temperatures that were below normal in late was marked August and September. by the drought

The scarce rainfall and excessive heat led to a lower yield per plant and high compared to last year. Even so, varieties such as Garnacha and Cariñena – temperatures, which usually withstand dry years well – were of exceptional quality. These which reduced weather conditions forced us to take action, especially with the Cariñena, which is somewhat more sensitive to heat waves. the yield but maintained The harvest began on August 30th with the Syrah, and we continued with the the quality” less productive Garnacha, located in the highest part of the estate. We had some light rainfall during the first half of September, followed by a period of dry wind and a significant drop in temperatures, causing the ripening cycle to slow down slightly. The time to harvest the ancestral varieties on the experimental field came in mid-September. These varieties have adapted very well to the soils on this estate.

We harvested the Garnacha located in the lower part of the estate at the end of September. To prevent the first signs of dehydration in the Cariñena, we decided to harvest it seven days earlier than last year to maintain the fruit and acidity in the grapes. We therefore harvested it on October 3rd, concluding the 2019 harvest with this variety.

Harvest on the Purgatori estate

Harvest Report 2019 l Torres Family Estates in Catalonia 11 Soils very deep, well drained One of the new features this year was the first harvest of the plantation of and of a moderately fine texture gobelet-trained Gonfaus vines, an ancestral variety, which we harvested that is monopolized by silt. On on September 12th. The new plantation is located in the lower part of the the surface, the soil isn’t stony estate and we could not use the plantation in the higher part for reference. and lacks gravel. The soil is low The quality was excellent and we were surprised at how different the wines in organic matter and has a very from these two plantations are. The wines from the new gobelet-trained high calcium carbonate content. plantation have a more continental character, while still maintaining the freshness and smoothness that characterizes this ancestral variety. We still cannot draw too many conclusions, but we believe that vine growing using the gobelet training system in regions such as Les Garrigues is a wise move that will help us cope with the increasing temperatures.

In general, we can say the harvest was short but of excellent quality. We already sense wines with a bouquet that shows off the variety intensely, strongly revealing the identity of the area. The extraction of polyphenols was somewhat more complicated than last year and the skin maceration slightly shorter than other years, in order to get finer and more elegant batches.

Harvest on the Purgatori estate

Sant Miquel de Tremp (Pallars sub-area)

We had a rather dry year on the Sant Miquel de Tremp estate, with weather conditions throughout the entire growing cycle that brought the harvest forward to a certain extent.

Following a cold winter, we moved on to a cool spring, although not as rainy as in other years, and we reached summer with a fairly warm July and

12 Harvest Report 2019 l Torres Family Estates in Catalonia August with some rain, allowing us to maintain the vigor of the vines. The temperature difference was striking during this period, with cool nights and moderately warm temperatures during the day.

This contributed to the good ripening of the majority of the varieties, mainly the short cycle ones such as the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that we use for the Vardon Kennett sparkling wine. The ancestral variety Pirene – the variety that has best adapted to this estate’s climate and soils – was slower due to a cooler September, but following a long wait we were able to harvest it with good health status and fantastic quality.

We started the harvest on August 26th with the Chardonnay, followed by the Pinot Noir, and we finished the harvest on October 17th with the Pirene, one week later than last year.

In terms of the wines, the whites are very elegant with fresh aromas on the nose and good acidity on the palate, while the reds enjoy good intensity on the nose and excellent balance on the palate.

Mountain vine growing: harvest on the Sant Miquel estate

Soils made up of limestone conglomerates that formed from deposits of materials that came from the erosion of the mountain range ‘Sierra del Gurp’ during the Quaternary Period. The thick gravel allows good drainage and the high permeability prevents excessive accumulations of carbonates and the formation of compact crusts.

Harvest Report 2019 l Torres Family Estates in Catalonia 13 Meteorology

During the growing cycle (April to Total rainfall during the vegetative cycle (apr-sept) September), the rainfall was lower mm 2018 2019 in all areas compared to the rainfall 700 recorded last year, which was particularly rainy. In the Pallars Jussà 600 sub-area of Costers del Segre and 500 Conca de Barberà, it rained less than half the amount as during this same 400 period in 2018, while the drop was 300 more moderate in the other areas. 200

100

0 Penedès Priorat Conca de Costers del Segre Costers del Segre Barberà (Garrigues) (Pallars Jussà)

The average temperatures from Average temperature during the vegetative cycle (apr-sept)

April to September were also lower ° C 2018 2019 than those last year in all areas 21 except for Pallars Jussà (Costers del Segre), where they went up more 20 than one degree. 19

18

17

16 Penedès Priorat Conca de Costers del Segre Costers del Segre Barberà (Garrigues) (Pallars Jussà)

The average temperatures for the Average temperature throughout the ripening period (aug-sept) ripening period, from August to ° C 2018 2019 September, followed the trend of the growing cycle and were slightly 24 lower than last year in all areas except for Pallars Jussà (Costers del 22 Segre). Priorat was the area with the highest average temperature during 20 those two months (22.7 °C), followed by the Les Garrigues sub-area of 18 Costers del Segre (22.6 °C) and the Penedès (22.4 °C). 16 Penedès Priorat Conca de Costers del Segre Costers del Segre Barberà (Garrigues) (Pallars Jussà)

14 Harvest Report 2019 l Torres Family Estates in Catalonia Research and climate change

For the past few years, the Innovation and Knowledge area, led by my sister Mireia Torres, has been working to select native yeasts from our main estates using two different methods, one of which is implemented in cooperation with the Catalan Institute of Vines and Wines (INCAVI). Our aim is to identify the yeasts found in the vineyard itself that bring something special to the variety, in addition to finishing the fermentation. We have already identified some strains that we are still doing tests with to discover their full potential.

We also continued working to adapt to the new climate scenario and to

reduce our CO2 emissions per bottle. We are close to achieving the target that we had set ourselves for 2020, which was to reduce our carbon footprint by 30 % compared to 2008 (the reduction stands at 27.6 % according to the 2018 assessment), so we have set a new reduction target of 50 % for 2030. Actions we have carried out this year related to the climate emergency include beginning to plant trees in Patagonia to offset our emissions using our own efforts, as well as the launch of International Wineries for Climate Action, a working group we have promoted together with Californian winery Jackson Family Wines to take the lead for the decarbonization of the sector.

Miguel A. Torres, during the Familia Torres Climate Change Course, held in April in Vilafranca with 50 professionals from eight countries

Harvest Report 2019 l Torres Family Estates in Catalonia 15