Appellation: DO Penedès.
Cuvée: Ull de Llebre.
Colour: Red.
Grapes: Tempranillo (called Ull de Llebre in Catalonia).
About: From pure limestone soils and with a maceration of just two days, this is as simply made as possible to yield a very soft, silky, pure, light red wine.
Vines
Location: near Sant Marti Sarroca just north west of Vilafranca del Penedès.
Size ha: 3.4.
Age: vines planted between 1965 and 1985.
Soils: limestone with traces of fossilised oysters.
Exposition: east-west.
Altitude: 300m.
Training: on wire.
Farming: organic (not certified).
Average yield hl/ha: 30.
Climate: Mediterranean.
Winemaking
The hand-picked harvest is de-stemmed and moved directly to ferment in open 5,000L stainless steel (inox) tank. On the skins for just two days, with a daily pump over, it’s then pressed gently in a pneumatic press and returned to tank to finish the ferment, sometimes with a bit of the press wine if a little more colour or volume required. Natural yeasts are used, temperature is controlled to 15ºC, ferment lasts 28 days. The wine stays there for six months un-touched before racking by gravity and bottling without stabilisation, clarification, or filtration. Sulfites are not added at any stage of the process.
Vintage Notes 2018
A challenging year with twice the normal annual rainfall, particularly in the Spring.
Yield hl/ha: 35.
Harvested: end August.
Bottles produced: 13,000.
Date bottling: 2019-04.
Alcohol %: 12.31.
SO2 Total mg/L: 12
Tasting: pale in colour, clean and refreshing, light and pure with lively red berry and cherry fruit character, with silky tannins.
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: 10,000
Date bottled: 2020-05
Alcohol %: 11.5
SO2 Total: < 20 naturally occurring
Tasting: light and fresh, well balanced, clean, clear plum, cherry fruit, a lovely easy drinker.