August 2025 Blanco y Tinto Club

Espelt Pla de Gates 2022 Blanc Regular Price: $36.99 Club Price: $31.44 Buy Now

It’s Back — Pla de Gates Blanc! Wine Club members ask about (and we missed too)

Over the past year, we’ve had a bunch of regulars stop by the Berkeley shop and ask the same thing: “Hey, can you still get that wine with the megalith on the label?” Or sometimes just, “That Anna Espelt wine... you know the one.”

We knew exactly what they meant. Pla de Gates Blanc made an impression. We've brought it back and perfect for late summer. If you’ve had it before, you know just how special it is. If not, let us catch you up.

Anna Espelt is a winemaker in Empordà, way up in northeastern Spain, where the mountains meet the Mediterranean. She farms organically in a wild, and windy place called Mas Marés (think granite soil, ocean air, and the scent of wild herbs in every direction.) Her vineyard is part of a protected nature reserve, and when she started working there she discovered ancient stone monuments built 4,000 years ago (That’s the stone you see on the label of her Garnacha.) a reminder that people have been connected to this land for millennia.

Pla de Gates Blanc is made from Garnacha Blanca and Garnacha Gris, picked by hand and kept whole and cool to preserve freshness and aromatics. After a short bit of skin contact, the wine is fermented and aged in egg-shaped cement vessels, a detail that might sound technical, but makes a real difference. The shape encourages a natural flow of the wine during fermentation and aging, and the porous cement allows for gentle oxygen exchange. The result? A wine that’s layered, textured, and full of life without ever losing its brightness. In the glass, it’s got this beautiful mix of zesty citrus, white peach, and green apple, with subtle hints of almond, minty herbs, and a salty snap on the finish all carried on a clean, mineral backbone that feels straight from the sea.

Oh ! And Anna kind of casually mentioned that these are the house wines at Disfrutar, which was recently named the best restaurant in the world — No big deal.

We’re so excited to have this one back in the shop and in the Wine Club. To those of you who remembered it and asked, thank you for keeping it on our radar. And if you’re just discovering it now, we’re excited for you to fall in love with it too.

Anna Espelt bringing her wines to the shop 2024

“I knew about the incredible work she had done in Emporda, mapping the soil types and making sense of a mosaic like region. I suspect few people have spent even half the amount of time in the vineyards as she, and I can think of no better candidate for our viticultor of the year award."

– Best Grower of the Year, Tim Atkin's 2025 Catalunya Special Report

El Predilecto 2022 Rioja Gomez Cruzado Regular Price: $35.99 Club Price: $30.59 Buy Now

If you ever find yourself in Haro’s Barrio de la Estación, you might stumble upon Gómez Cruzado,a quietly confident little winery situated among Rioja’s more famous names. It’s been around since 1886, though you wouldn’t necessarily know it.

The historic stone facade of Gómez Cruzado in Haro’s Barrio de la Estación since 1886.

 For much of the 20th century, its wines were mostly sold in Mexico, where the owners lived, and it somehow managed to fly under the radar. The fact that it stayed independent all that time, without being swallowed up by its flashier neighbors, is kind of amazing. But everything started to shift in 2004, when the Baños family took over and brought in winemaker David González and viticulturist Juan Antonio Leza. Together, they’ve given the place a fresh new rhythm, one that looks back in order to move forward.

Winemaker David González, part of the new generation shaping Gómez Cruzado’s future while honoring its roots.

One of the clearest expressions of that new energy is El Predilecto “the favorite“ or "preferred" and it shows. This wine feels like a love letter to an earlier Rioja, before the region leaned so heavily on oak and Bordeaux-style aging. Back then, the wines were all about fruit, freshness, and letting the land speak. That’s the spirit behind the 2022 vintage, made mostly from old-vine Garnacha in the rugged hills of Alto Najerilla, blended with Tempranillo from the chalky slopes of Samaniego. Each varietal is fermented on its own, with native yeasts and a gentle hand, then blended and rested for a few months in concrete.

Concrete tanks and oak barrels balance between old and new.

What you get is something alive and honest. Bright cherry, a hint of fennel, and just enough of that savory, herbal edge to keep it seriously moreish. Critics have been paying attention too—92 points from Wine Advocate, Tim Atkin, and others. But beyond the numbers, it’s just a joy to drink. Limited production (just over 36,000 bottles), but big personality.

I would say, El Predilecto is both a throwback and a low-key revolution. It’s a wine that remembers where Rioja started and hints at where it could go next.