SK White 2019

SK Blanc 2019, Partida Creus

The Catalan winery Partida Creus is the creation of two Piedmontese natives from the Langhe (where wine is known), Antonella Gerosa and Massimo Marchiori, who first pursued careers as architects in Barcelona. But the wine bug bit them, and soon they abandoned the big city and its sophistication for the vineyards of southern Catalonia, in Bonastre in Baix-Penedés. There they found a quantity of abandoned vineyards planted with a dizzying diversity of traditional Catalan grape varieties, which they passionately revived to save these varieties – and their wines – from oblivion. For them, it's not just a matter of heritage rescue, no: it's a matter of taste and nature. Natural wines, which they will continue to make from now on on these sandy, poor, clay-limestone or clay-gravelly, poor and poorly irrigated lands, where the vines suffer to give their best juice. This is why their estate is as important on a wine level as on a historical level – here we are talking about the history of the vine in Catalonia.
Massimo and Antonella practice organic, biodynamic, entirely manual and natural viticulture in order to give new life to these wines. Vinyater, sumoll, garrut, monastrell, ull de perdiu, ull de llebre, sumoll, queixal de llop, cariñena, trepat, ceciat parent, maccabeu, parellada, pansé, vinel.lo, bobal, cartoixà vermell or xarel.lo: it is a true conservatory of the native Catalan grape varieties that Partida Creus cares for. There are also Moscatel, Grenache, Merlot, and Cabernet (among others). Few wineries can boast growing so many different grape varieties. The wines reflect this diversity, with winemakers striving to best convey the signature of the soil and the grape variety: single varietals are common among them, alongside extensive blends, all in the styles dear to Catalonia: still wine, "ancestral" sparkling wine, and even vermouth. The bottles themselves are works of art: bare glass, simply marked with two large stenciled initials that indicate the cuvée. The wines, fresh, vibrant, lush but always straightforward and impeccably juicy and fruity, breathe life. The arrival of a Partida Creus at the table always elicits exclamations of joy. This splendid Alexandrian Muscat wine is vinified dry by Partida Creus. This is a white wine with a hint of orange, deliciously fresh, fragrant, and aromatic. The nose receives a hint of marzipan, and the palate confirms this sensation by adding complex notes: lychee, pear, flowering meadow, plenty of freshness and crunch. A long, satiny finish. It pairs very well with raw, grilled, or sauced fish, spicy dishes such as fish or poultry curries, and Middle Eastern, Indian, and Sichuan cuisines.