Gran Coronas Etiqueta Negra 1971 Gran Reserva

Wine: Gran Coronas Etiqueta Negra 1971 Gran Reserva

Winery: Miguel Torres (Vilafranca del Penedès, Barcelona)
Appellation / Region: D.O. Penedès
Varietals: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cariñena, Cabernet Franc, and Tempranillo
ABV: 12.5%
Winemaking

Grapes sourced exclusively from a single vineyard. Fermentation in stainless steel tanks under controlled temperatures. Initial aging in new American and French oak barrels for 6 months. After racking, the wine continued its maturation in second- or third-fill barrels until bottling in late 1973. 

 

Tasting Notes
 

Appearance: Bright, clear reddish-ruby with medium depth; somewhat turbid (grainy) due to very fine sediment (stored vertically to settle and subsequently decanted). It shows orange and copper highlights with a broad, tawny (tile-red) rim. 

 

Nose: Good intensity—elegant, classic, and very serious. Notes of cigar wrapper and aged leather emerge, alongside abundant black fruit (black cherries, ripe blueberries, black raspberries), followed by hints of "Zara" style hard licorice and a wild edge of roasted bell pepper, anise, and fennel. Varietal and distinctly Mediterranean in character. As it breathes and warms, liqueur-like notes appear, with an increased sense of fruit preserves and a high-quality smoky and spicy background featuring creamy oak. It shows no signs of fatigue or excessive reduction, unlike other Etiqueta Negra bottlings from the same period. 

 

Palate: Stewed and mature on the palate; silky, with fine and elegant tannins. It maintains a correct acidity that makes it very pleasant and drinkable, though everything suggests it has reached its peak and will not improve further with more bottle age. Round and integrated, featuring concentrated black fruit, spices, and a somewhat pronounced liqueur-like trail. 

 

Personal Score: 91
Tasting Group Score: 92

Historical Context & Background: 

For the Torres family, Bordeaux wines represented the ultimate paradigm of excellence in traditional fine winemaking. This conviction led them to champion Bordeaux varietals for the creation of their most emblematic label: Torres Gran Coronas Etiqueta Negra Gran Reserva. Between 1965 and 1966, the Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard was planted at the Mas La Plana estate.

 

The inaugural vintage, the 1970 Etiqueta Negra, triumphed at the historic 1979 Wine Olympics, a premier global competition organized in Paris by the renowned gastronomes Henri Gault and Christian Millau. For the first time, a non-French wine outperformed the most prestigious Cabernet Sauvignons of the Médoc, including icons such as Château Latour 1970, Château Pichon-Lalande 1964, and even the legendary Château La Mission Haut Brion 1961.

 

By the mid-1980s, the wine adopted its current name, Torres Mas La Plana, transitioning to a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon monovarietal. This shift marked the end of the use of old-vine Tempranillo and Cariñena, as well as Cabernet Franc, in the final blend.

 

The 1971 Vintage:
The 1971 harvest was officially rated as Good (G) for white wines and Very Good (VG) for reds by the Regulatory Board of the D.O. Penedès.