Andorran wine, five mountain wineries and their steep vineyards

Plenty of people are surprised that Andorra makes wine at all. I find it one of the most fascinating things about the country, because it’s a recent story, written by families who decided to plant vines on mountain slopes where common sense said no. Today there are five wineries, each with its own character.

Does Andorra make wine?

Yes, and it’s a comeback story. Casa Beal, in Nagol, belongs to the Visa-Tor family, whom the tourist board credits with reviving Andorran wine after more than a century’s break. They began in 1988 and, after years of trials, released Cim de Cel in 2006, the first Andorran wine of the 21st century. In 2014 the International Wine Guide gave it a Grand Gold as one of the world’s six best white wines.

The others followed. The tourist board lists five, Borda Sabaté, Casa Auvinyà, Casa Beal, Mas Berenguer and Casus Belli, which offer vineyard and cellar visits and tastings, and sell their wines at the winery and in gourmet shops around the country.

Sant Julià, the wine parish

What strikes me most is the map. Four of the five wineries are in Sant Julià de Lòria, the southern parish on the Spanish border. Borda Sabaté farms at 1,190 m on the Solà de la Muxella, using biodynamic methods under the guidance of winemaker Alain Graillot; its white Escol won the Cervim Grand Prix in 2019 as the world’s best extreme white wine, and its red Torb 2015 took a gold medal. It also runs the Le Domaine restaurant among the vines.

Casa Auvinyà, run by the Tor family since 2005, works two hectares in five plots at 1,200 m, on slopes of 40 to 60% with schist and slate soils. It makes Evolució, Forapista and Imagine, a white it calls a «snow wine», all carrying the government’s official Vins d’Andorra seal. Mas Berenguer, at Pui d’Olivesa, is the youngest, founded in 2011, with vines at 950 m. Its roots, though, go deeper than any other. According to the tourist board, the same family has farmed the estate since the year 902, and the Berenguer surname lasted seven generations, until 1714; the winery took the name in its honour. Its first results came in 2013. The parish and its villages are in Sant Julià de Lòria.

Casus Belli, the northern outlier

The fifth breaks the pattern. Casus Belli is in Ordino, the only winery in the northern valleys, with vines between 1,250 and 1,300 m, the highest in the country according to the tourist board. It planted early-ripening, short-cycle varieties in 2010, which lets it make sparkling wine in a mostly shaded valley. It bottled its first vintage in 2015 and now makes a pinot noir and two sparkling wines, one from pinot noir and chardonnay and a blanc de noirs. The parish is covered in Ordino.

Grapes and style

Going by what the wineries describe, these are cool-climate, short-cycle grapes. Pinot noir, pinot gris, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling, viognier, albariño and a little syrah. Andorra Turisme talks about wines with plenty of character that carry the harshness of the land, and Casus Belli describes its own as fresh, long and with vigorous acidity. I won’t give you tasting notes I haven’t written, but I’ll tell you what I’d do, try a white and a sparkling wine, which is where altitude has most to say.

How to visit

Borda Sabaté runs guided visits all year. Casa Beal asks for bookings at least three days ahead, and visits last between 90 minutes and three hours, in Catalan, Spanish, French or English, with time in the vineyard, the cellar and a tasting. Casa Auvinyà offers visits and tastings by appointment. If you’re tasting, leave the car; gov.uk warns that a drink-driving offence in Andorra can cost as much as €600 plus two months without your licence.

For the trip home, Great Britain’s allowance per adult is 18 litres of still wine and 42 litres of beer, and on top of that either 4 litres of spirits or 9 of sparkling or fortified drinks up to 22%. The full drinks picture is in Andorra alcohol allowance, and the dishes these wines go with are in Andorran food.