Joan Ramón Escoda is really not an intimidating dude. Maybe it's the sexy (in a Catalunyan country kind of way) hair that made me think otherwise, but the guy is pretty damn chill. Recently traveling with his west coast US importer, Josh Eubank of Percy Selections, we stopped by his family’s restaurant Tossal Gros for lunch. Sporting an Adidas mask, and his hair looking as majestic as ever, JR warmly welcomed us to the table that he was holding court at outside, and promptly opened Mas del Gaio 2020, a deliciously candied macerated white blend, simultaneously complex and immediate, to start things off. Over an incredible lunch we sampled a few Escoda cellar gems but when it came down to ordering bottles for the meal, Joan was a fierce advocate of his best friend Laureano Serres, insisting we order some deep cut Mendall bottles from the restaurant's collection—clearly, we had no issue with this. In contrast to Laureano’s young wines that take on more elegance as they age (BB 2010 right now is just unreal), Joan’s agua vivas, as he calls them, usually encompass a specific kind of Catalan sophistication and lushness straight out of the gate and of course, do well in the cellar, too.

After lunch we went to the bodega and tasted some Escoda 21s just in vessel—Joan was quite spirited about the still fermenting wines and the recent harvest, especially in contrast to the 2020 harvest, a vintage in which most of his grapes were lost to downy mildew, and sadly, his smallest crop in 15 years. Luckily, the wine he was able to make in 2020 is however stellar, and I am pleased to be able to offer a small quantity of those plus La Llopetera 2019, his Pinot Noir aged in amphora and Carmen 2018, a deluxe new cuvée of 100% Cabernet Franc named after his wife; a rich red wine meant for a big winter meal with friends.



Els Bassots 2020
Chenin Blanc
$31





Les Paradetes 2020
Carinyena / Garnatxa / Sumoll
$31





La Llopetera 2019
Pinot Noir
$33





Mas del Gaio 2020
Parellada / Garnatxa Blanca / Macabeo / Sumoll Blanc
$40





Carmen 2018
Cabernet Franc
$55