EL ESCOCÉS VOLANTE is based in Aragón, Spain dedicated to the production of high quality wines with a particular focus on the native Garnacha grape variety. They also specialize in making very individual wines from native Spanish varieties from other exciting wine regions.
El Escocés Volante (The Flying Scot), Norrel Robertson MW, touched down with his family in Spain in 2003 and released his first wine in 2004.
Date Founded: 2003
Winery Philosophy: Our winemaking philosophy is based on maximising the potential of the fantastic raw material we have available in Spain to produce intense wines with a sense of place.
Norrel has been making wine in Spain for over 10 years and is currently the only Master of Wine living in Spain. He was born and raised in Scotland and, after graduating from Aberdeen University with a MA Honours degree in Politics and International Relations, has worked in the wine industry for the last 20 years, starting in sales before moving on to buying and product development.
In the 1990´s Norrel decided to pursue a career in winemaking and decided the best way was to learn from the cellar up. Norrel went on to work vintages in Chianti in Italy, Portugal, Australia, France and Chile. In 1998, Norrel embarked on the Master of Wine Course and became a Master of Wine in November 2000, winning the Robert Mondavi Award for the best overall theory performance in the exam.
In 2002-2003 Norrel studied the Postgraduate Viticulture and Oenology course at Lincoln University in Christchurch, New Zealand, obtaining his postgraduate qualification with distinction.
In 2003, he moved to Spain to as Winemaker for International Wine Services and quickly fell in love with the old Garnacha vineyards in the area of Calatayud, Aragon and decided to start making his own wines.
Winemaker: Norrel Robertson
His company - EL ESCOCÉS VOLANTE SL - took off and Norrel now produces many award winning wines made from very specially selected vineyards at high altitude in Aragon, Spain. He also has winemaking projects in Murcia, Andalucia and Galicia. His own wines are sold in over 15 markets. He consults for many high profile wineries in Spain and also to import businesses in the UK .