Appellation: Penedès
Cuvée: Saltamarti
Colour: Red
Grapes: Tempranillo
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. Early vintages were with some Garnacha, now all Tempranillo.

Vines

Location: near Sant Marti Sarroca just north west of Vilafranca del Penedès.
Size ha: 10.
Age: vines planted between 1968 and 1998.
Soils: Tempranillo on well-drained limestone and sand, Garnacha on clay.
Exposition:.
Altitude: 250m.
Training: on wire.
Farming: organic.
Average yield hl/ha: 30.
Climate: Mediterranean.

Winemaking

Hand-picked harvest de-stemmed and moved to ferment in open stainless steel. On skins for a few days only, with a gentle pump over, then pressed and returned to tank to finish the ferment, sometimes with some press wine if required for colour or volume. Stays there for six months un-touched before racking by gravity to bottle without stabilisation, clarification, filtration nor sulfiting. 10% of the previous year’s harvest is added after spending a year in old French oak 300L barrels to add a little spicy complexity.

Vintage Notes 2016
Yield hl/ha: 30.
Harvested: early September.
Bottles produced: 9,000.
Date bottled: 2017-05.
Alcohol %: 12.89.
SO2 Total: 17.
Tasting:

Vintage Notes 2017
Yield hl/ha: 30.
Harvested: early September.
Bottles produced: 9,000.
Date bottled: 2017-05.
Alcohol %: 12.30.
SO2 Total: 18.
Tasting:

Vintage Notes 2018
Sees a much shorter time on skins to reveal a lighter, fresher fruit character.
Yield hl/ha: 40.
Harvested: .
Bottles produced: 37,000.
Date bottling: 2019-03.
Alcohol %: 12.1.
SO2 Total: 15.
Tasting: pale red, a bit cloudy, with a spicy, nutty, red berry fruit, soft, gentle, with a touch of fruit sweetness and earthiness at the same time. Fine tannings, refreshing, easy drinking.

Vintage Notes 2019
A hot, dry summer followed a wet winter and spring so the wines are both very ripe and reasonably juicy.
Yield hl/ha: 35
Harvested: early September
Bottles produced: 30,000
Date bottled: 2020-05
Alcohol %: 12
SO2 Total: < 20 naturally occurring
Tasting: light fresh, and elegant with clear plum and cherry fruit with a touch of vanilla spice. Medium light bodied, calm, fresh acidity, soft but present tannins.