Appellation: Corpinnat Cuvée: Brut Nature Colour: sparkling white Grapes: Xarel·lo 55%, Macabeo 30%, Sumoll Tinto 15% About: Mas Candí is one of 11 founder members of Corpinnat, a voluntary group of former Cava producers in the Penedès who have created a wine charter to self-impose far higher standards than for DO Cava. This masterful entry … Continue reading Mas Candí MC Brut Nature Corpinnat
Appellation: none Cuvée: Montombra Blanc Colour: White Grapes: Xarello 90%, Malvasia 10% About: from a newly acquired vineyard in the heart of the Garraf, a beautiful and protected forest between the Penedès and the sea, the vines lie on terraces in a perfectly exposed amphitheatre, once abandoned then recovered from around 2000, are very low … Continue reading Mas Candí Montombra Blanc
Appellation: none Cuvée: QX Brisat Colour: Orange Grapes: Xarello About: Xarello is the grape most adapted to the soils and climate of the Penedès in the experience of all experienced growers giving some magical results with old vines that haven’t been exhausted by chemical industrial viticulture. This is a skin contact “orange” wine made in … Continue reading Mas Candí QX Brisat
Who: Ramon Jané and Mercè Cuscó What: Vino de España and Corpinnat Where: Penedès near Vilafranca del Penedès When: Since 2006 Ramon Jané and Mercè Cuscó are the husband wife team who own and manage Mas Candí, a growing concern in the Penedès just outside Avinyonet close to Vilafranca del Penedès, less than an hour … Continue reading Mas Candí
Appellation: Cava Cuvée: Mallerenga Brut Nature Gran Reserva Colour: Sparkling white Grapes: Xarel.lo 40%, Xarel.lo in barrel 20%, Chardonnay 40% About: named after a local bird seen often in the vineyards and surrounding forest shown on the label. This Cuvée plays with a very different blend from the others, with a much higher proportion of … Continue reading Carol Valles Cava Mallerenga Brut Nature Gran Reserva
Appellation: Cava Cuvée: Guillem Carol Brut Nature Gran Reserva Colour: Sparkling white Grapes: Xarel-lo 56%, Macabeu 24%, Chardonnay 15%, Pinot Noir 5% About: Joan Carol celebrates his son joining the business with this Cuvée which is squarely aimed at gastronomy where the Parellada i Faura is perfect on its own. This is perfect with white … Continue reading Carol Valles Cava Guillem Carol Brut Nature Gran Reserva
Appellation: DO Penedès Cuvée: Hey! Colour: White Grapes: Macabeu 60, Xarello 40 About: New in 2019, an entry level white with a bit of skin contact from a new vineyard Amós is looking after that was planted by his Grandfather, this is more about the wine experience than Missatge and Oculta which are more about … Continue reading Amós Bañeres Hey! 2019
Appellation: Cava Cuvée: Pregadeu Colour: White Grapes: Xarello About: A beautifully soft and fruity Cava in the style of a Pet Nat from the Penedes region reflecting the Els Vinyerons philosophy for making easy drinking, easy to understand, clean, simple but satisfying natural wines. They still capture the fruit of the grape, soil and climate. … Continue reading Els Vinyerons Cava Pregadeu
Appellation: VDE. Cuvée: La Bufarrella. Colour: White. Grapes: Xarello. About: another killer wine from Toni Carbó that shows what can be done with Xarello, here low-yielding and given 5 months skin contact with 5% of the stems left in to add some vegetal crunch, the wine that comes out is hardly orange and remarkably fine … Continue reading La Salada La Bufarrella
Appellation: Vi. Cuvée: Baudili. Colour: White. Grapes: Xarello 65%, Parellada 35%. About: this is basically a still Tinc Set and was originally, in the first vintage 2016, called Tinc Set Tranquil. To avoid confusion, for the label was basically the same as the sparkling, too, the wine has been re-named after the vineyard it comes … Continue reading La Salada Baudili
Appellation: Vi escumós. Cuvée: Tinc Set. Colour: Sparkling White. Grapes: Xarello 65%, Parellada 35%. About: Fine, thirst-quenching, wonderfully refreshing with clean and pure fruit. This light, easy, fun sparkling white is just about the best aperitif or palate cleanser or fix of bubbles we know. As with all La Salada-Mas Candí joint productions, it’s from … Continue reading La Salada Tinc Set
Appellation: Penedès Cuvée: Lluerna Colour: White Grapes: Xarello About: Both red and white Els Vinyerons – Vins Naturals wines are creations brilliantly realised to make inexpensive organic, sans soufre, terroir wines. They’re designed to be clean and easy to drink while fully capturing the fruit character of the grape and soil and climate. The soil … Continue reading Els Vinyerons Penedès Lluerna
Almost everything we know about Amós Bañeres’s wines for now has been posted here! Amós makes tiny quantities of pure, complex, elegant, rich and totally gorgeous wines from a small hillside near Vilafranca in the Penedès of Macabeu on one side and Xarel-lo on the other. Without added sulfites.
Appellation: DO Penedès. Cuvée: Vinya Oculta. Colour: White. Grapes: Xarello. About: Amos top wine – until he produced the extraordinary Arrels del Cielo. Majestic, full of umami, the name means the dark side of the vineyard because it’s north-facing so ripens more slowly, more intensely. While Missatge expresses a celestial side to Macabeu, this very … Continue reading Amós Bañeres Penedès Vinya Oculta
Appellation: Cava Cuvée: Parellada i Faura Reserva Brut Nature Colour: Sparkling white Grapes: Parellada 60%, Macabeu 30%, Xarel-lo 10% About: this is a fantastic value Cava. It’s a revelation if you’ve only tasted industrial Cava and shows what quality can be produced when the wine is hand-crafted from organic fruit with a light touch … Continue reading Carol Valles Parellada i Faura Cava Brut Reserva
Who: Joan and Guillem Carol What: Cava Where: Penedes, Catalonia When: Since 1996 The lovely wines from Carol Valles show how good Cava can be when it’s made with care by a small, family estate dedicated to making just one style of wine, from traditional varieties farmed organically, and aged for 18 months, double the … Continue reading Carol Valles
