Celler Pardas "Rupestris" '21

Celler Pardas began as a partnership between two friends, Ramon Parera and Jordi Arnan, who found and purchased a very special masía (Catalan farmhouse), called Can Comas, in Alt Penedès, surrounded by vineyards and agriculture. They have dedicated themselves to local grapes such as Xarel.lo and Sumoll, with the goal of showing the clearest expression of each variety. Pardas is committed to farming organically and producing wines of terroir, and its success has been instrumental in influencing other vignerons to replant with more local varieties and embrace the terroir of Spain.

The work starts in the vineyards of Finca Can Comas with Jordi. His practices are impeccable: dry-farming, no ploughing, and no use of chemicals or fertilizers. When Ramon takes over in the winery, his goal is to gently treat the grapes to let them express their terroir. Grapes are hand harvested in small crates, and no pumps are used, so everything flows by gravity. All the wines are fermented with native yeasts, and Pardas uses a mixture of concrete and old oak for fermentation and aging.

“Rupestris” is a white blend of 80% Xarel.lo and 20% Malvasia de Sitges; the Xarel.lo is from 50-year-old vines planted on chalk and clay soils, while the Malvasía was planted by Ramon and Jordi in 1996. The wine was fermented and aged for six months in 100-year-old concrete tanks, with some bâtonnage. The wine is floral and aromatic yet retains great salinity and minerality, and it has fresh, bright acidity.