Javier Revert

VALENCIA

I first met Revert at Celler del Roure (see p33) a few years back. He was winemaker there for a decade. Since then he has moved on. The first step was not far – just a few hundred metres in altitude to a vineyard planted by his great-grandfather in 1948 on the Penya Foradà slopes. Revert had been looking for parcels of old-vine white varieties, and his grandfather pointed it out one day in 2014.

He searched for more vineyards, some on terraces as high as 900m, abandoned long ago. The mix of local varieties is fascinating: Arcos, Bonicaire, Monastrell, Tortosí, Trepadell, Verdil... His wines are delicate and fresh but penetrating. His

Arcos wine, Simeta, is the most ‘serious’ of his range, strikingly complex. Micalet is a glorious blend of the white varieties, while Sensal is a crisp village red blend including the ‘super-interesting’ Bonicaire.

Revert has recently joined Finca Sandoval in Manchuela as winemaker, on the recommendation of Garnacha guru Dani Landi. Sandoval, which was founded in 1998 by the journalist Victor de la Serna, has new majority owners. The results of Revert’s first vintages and blends are very promising.

Recalling discussions about approaches to wine styles with Sandoval’s founder, Revert remarks: ‘In one sense, I’m with Victor: I prefer blends. The great Mediterranean wines are blends.’

Javier Revert, Micalet, Valencia 2019 94 £ 25.50 (2018) The Sourcing Table

I’m a great fan of Micalet, and not simply because of its typically Mediterranean wine blend: not just Tortosí and Trepadell but also Malvasía, Merseguera and Verdil, planted in 1948 in the same plot, and harvested on the same day. Once fermentation starts, part of the wine goes to barrel, the rest to stainless steel and later to glass demijohns. The wine is fresh, with a saline note and a fine chalkiness. Drink 2021-2024 Alc 12.7%

‘I prefer blends – the great Mediterranean wines are blends’

Javi Revert (below)