"Biodynamic since day one": this motto adorns every cork from Familia Nin Ortiz. Ester Nin and Carles Ortiz belong to the second generation of the Priorat, the movement that shifted the focus from concentration and extraction to freshness, elegance and the expression of terroir. On spectacular steep slopes around Porrera, worked with mules and according to strict biodynamic principles, they make wines of extraordinary slate minerality: cool, light-footed and alive.
Region: Priorat & Montsant
In all wines: 106 Wines
More about Familia Nin Ortiz
Ester Nin came to the Priorat from the Penedès, studied oenology in Tarragona and gained her first experience at Clos Erasmus, one of the region's cult wines. Carles Ortiz, for his part, was already a grape grower with 18 hectares of organically farmed vineyards. When they met at a biodynamics seminar in 2007, the spark was immediate, both professionally and personally. Their first joint vintage followed in 2008.
Mules instead of tractors
The Nin Ortiz vineyards lie at up to 700 metres, among the highest in the Priorat. The steep slopes of llicorella, the famous black slate, rule out mechanical cultivation. So Carles returned to a method that nobody in Porrera had practised since the 1960s: ploughing with mules. What might look like romantic folklore is a practical necessity and, at the same time, an expression of their uncompromising philosophy.
Grand crus of the Priorat
The Nit de Nin "Mas d'en Caçador" comes from one of the most privileged sites: north-facing, on pure slate, with some vines more than 100 years old. It glows with energy, showing dark, earthy nuances paired with finesse and delicate herbal notes. For all its concentration it feels cool and light-footed, a model of the new Priorat. The second top site, La Coma d'en Romeu, yields a broader, spicier style from 70-year-old Garnacha.
Renaissance des Appellations
Familia Nin Ortiz is one of the few Spanish estates to be a member of La Renaissance des Appellations, the association of leading biodynamic producers founded by Nicolas Joly. The wines ferment spontaneously in foudres, demi-muids or amphorae, without fining or filtration. Alongside the red heavyweights, the Planetes Blanc, made from the rare Cariñena Blanca, impresses as one of the most individual white wines in Spain.