Gift Ideas for Rookies

BB Bobal Red 2020

Partida Creus

With BB Bobal, Partida Creus delivers a vibrant and unique interpretation of this little-known Spanish grape variety. This natural red, from old vines cultivated in Catalonia, seduces with its vibrant freshness, intense fruit, and wild finesse.

A natural wine at heart

Massimo Marchiori and Antonella Gerosa, founders of Partida Creus, are artisans of natural wine. Based in Bonastre, in the Baix Penedès, they are revitalizing ancient vineyards using a completely biodynamic, manual approach, and without oenological inputs. Here, the Bobal expresses all the typical characteristics of Catalan soils, thanks to a respectful vinification process that magnifies its original character.

An aromatic explosion and beautiful tension on the palate

To the eye, BB Bobal 2020 reveals a dark cherry red color with deep highlights. On the nose, it charms with its captivating floral bouquet, evoking English candy, violet and thyme, on a background of fresh red fruits. On the palate, the attack is juicy and dynamic. We find morello cherry and ripe plum, enhanced by a fine touch of black pepper and a saline finish that brings freshness and length. The balance between intense fruitiness, straightforward acidity, and elegant tannic structure makes this a wine as distinguished as it is accessible.

Food and wine pairings and tasting moments

Served well chilled, between 14 and 16°C, BB Bobal is perfect with Iberian tapas and delicatessen meats or a mature cheese. Its silky structure and aromatic brightness also make it an ideal companion to a lamb grill, a mildly spiced tagine, or roast poultry. A vibrant and festive wine, to drink now or let evolve for a few years.

Esprit Attila Red 2018

La Sorga

Anthony Tortul loves old vineyards: he devotes his life to finding and vinifying them. Just as there are landless shepherds, he can be defined as a landless winegrower, in other words, a wine merchant whose scope extends throughout Languedoc and, eastward, as far as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, in search of the best terroirs. Born in Foix, with six years of experience as a wine technician and oenologist in various vineyards in the south of France, he created La Sorga in 2008. His enthusiasm leads him on a path of love at first sight, and each of these loves is a vineyard. The result is a dizzying mosaic of natural, lively and spirited wines, which reinvents itself each year with around thirty cuvées per vintage. Few winemakers can include such a variety of grape varieties: the whole of southern France is there with muscat, grenache, picpoul, mauzac, carignan, cinsault, marsanne, alicante, braucol, duras, viognier, len-de-l’el, and tutti quanti.

Esprit Attila is made up of sixty percent carignan (one hundred and thirteen year old vines) and forty percent syrah. These two grape varieties are harvested on the ferruginous clay-limestone soils of Lagrasse, in the Corbières. Vinification, in whole bunches, is done in separate grape varieties for ninety days in quasi-infusion before blending, followed by aging in concrete vats for a year and a second aging of one year in bottles, like a great Spanish red. The nose is immediately very aromatic and we find in abundance the characters of the two grape varieties: blueberry, blackcurrant, black olive… The palate is full, delicious, extremely fresh and typical of its vintage, with notes of violet.
Natural wine without added sulfites.

Es d’aqui Danslezetoiles Rouge 2015

Jean-Louis Pinto
This blend of Braucol, Carignan, and Muscat grown on clay-limestone soils was vinified in amphorae. Notes of candied black fruit and leather are added to the fruity and herbaceous notes, to the delight of natural wine adventurers. Plenty of aromatic presence, character, and originality.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.
Serves with: Organic Cul Noir pork sausage

L’Intrépide blanc 2020

Domaine Einhart
A Pinot Gris maceration wine exists, and it can reach incredible heights when vinified with care. The twenty-five-year-old vines are harvested by hand; the grapes are destemmed. Maceration, using indigenous yeasts, takes between four and eight days. Aging in foudres on fine lees precedes bottling without filtration. From the vineyard to the cellar, this wine was made without any additives. Decanting is recommended so that it can spread its wings and express its powerful and complex notes.

To find out more
Located in the northern part of the Alsatian vineyard, horizontally above Strasbourg, the Einhart estate is a ten-hectare family property whose vines are located on the hillsides that rise between the Alsace plain and the Vosges mountains. The soil is clay-limestone and rich in fossils (muschelkalk, i.e. shell limestone and oolitic limestone, and lettenkohle or dolomitic limestone). Since 1990, Nicolas Einhart has been at the helm, now assisted by his son Théo. True to his commitments to the TIFLO association, of which he is a co-founder, Nicolas devotes his winemaking to protecting the land and biodiversity, making wine without additives, refusing harmful phytosanitary products, and maintaining ecological refuge areas. His estate has been certified organic since 2011. Like Jean-Marc Dreyer, he is firmly focused on skin maceration and produces white maceration wines (orange wines) in addition to a Pinot Noir red. Entirely manual harvesting, destemming of the bunches, light punching down, and delicate pressing are characteristic of the estate, as well as the separate vinification of each terroir, aging on lees, and the absence of filtration before bottling. The wines are made from pure grapes, lively, powerful, invigorating, and reflect the minerality of the beautiful terroirs of the Vosges foothills.

Farmhouse Cider 2017,

Florian Bourrienne

Florian Bourrienne makes ciders for aging, intended to evolve over the years, and this sets him apart from most other producers. His orchard is located in the heart of Calvados, in the Pays d'Auge, but outside the AOC (Protected Designation of Origin) in order to preserve the freedom and uniqueness of his ciders. We can, without hesitation, call it natural cider, because the cider maker goes beyond organic to respect the traditional production method, which is delicate, patient, and requires a tremendous amount of work. From his fifteen-hectare orchard planted with tall stems, he produces ciders for aging, excellent to drink in their youth but sumptuous after several years. The blend is carefully measured according to the characteristics of each vintage. The fruit production is entirely organic and the fermentation processes—there are two for traditional cider—are slow and patient, so that the cider is made the right way, using natural yeasts. These are preserved in the cider thanks to a light filtration that respects all the living elements capable of polishing the taste and aromas, but also facilitates the formation of foam, which must be just right: neither too strong nor too weak. It's difficult to manage, but the result is well worth it. These are mastered ciders, eminently delicious, marked by an extraordinary sweetness and roundness of apple. Over time, they acquire notes of acidity and astringency that gracefully reinforce their beautiful aromatic palette. These are ciders of taste and pleasure, as delicious at the table as they are as an aperitif.

Obviously more evolved than the 2018, this 2017 vintage has a more sustained acidity in an overall still very marked by sweetness. Round, full-bodied, slightly astringent, it is approaching adulthood and you can drink it now or keep it for three to five years. The apple flavor is enhanced with a remarkable freshness. A sunny cider that puts you in a good mood.

Mus'cat Blanc 2019, Domaine de l'Octavin
Made from muscats from the Pyrénées-Orientales (50% Muscat à petits grains, 50% Muscat d'Alexandrie) grown biodynamically on clay-limestone soils, this wine is full of fruit and freshness. The grapes macerate for two weeks in whole bunches to promote the extraction of their lovely aromas. It will lend itself to all pairings, including desserts (not too sweet, please).
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

AA Anonimo Ancestral Rosé Sparkling 2017

Partida Creus
Anonimo Ancestral is a natural sparkling wine obtained by the method of refermentation in the bottle with aging for twelve months on fine lees. No filtration, no added sulphite. It results from a blend of several traditional Catalan grape varieties which differ depending on the color: for example xarel lo, macabeu, parellada, moscatel and ull de llebre. It pairs well with Mediterranean dishes, particularly those containing garlic, raw or cooked, such as snails Burgundy, romesco sauce, cod aioli, etc. It is a friend of all grilled dishes, including fish. This creamy and mineral wine with a superb texture and wonderful freshness should be drunk very cold (8-10°C) in a tulip or Bordeaux glass.
Natural wine with no added sulfites

XLC Xarel Lo Culinaries White 2022

Partida Creus
Culinaries Exclusive! This fruit of our collaboration with our favorite Catalan-Piedmontese, Antonella and Massimo, is a superb dry white from Catalonia, a unique and rare cuvée, and we are proud to present its first vintage. Classified as Vino de Mesa (table wine) and composed entirely of the indigenous Catalan Xarel·lo grape variety, this Culinaries cuvée is modeled on the estate's XL Xarel·lo, with notable differences. The wine is aged for a longer period and is done in demi-muids (large 500-650 liter barrels), which provides micro-oxygenation that enhances its complexity and fullness. It is therefore an "augmented" version of the XL, and it already tastes admirably, with a promise of great stability. Smoky, mineral, this Vino de Mesa (table wine) is already a classic, offering a pure and typical expression of xarel·lo. You can pair XL Xarel·lo Culinaries with the best of seafood, fish, white meats, roasted, grilled or cooked poultry in sauce...

Find out more

Partida Creus is an important estate, both in terms of wine and history – we are talking here about the history of the vine in Catalonia. Massimo Marchiori and Antonella Gerosa, originally from Piedmont – and even coming from the Langhe region, where they know a lot about wines – first pursued a career as architects in Barcelona. But the wine bug tickles them, and soon they abandon the big city and its sophistication for the vineyards of southern Catalonia, in Bonastre in Baix-Penedés. There they find a quantity of abandoned vineyards planted with a dizzying diversity of traditional Catalan grape varieties, which they passionately revive 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. Of natural wines, which they will never stop making from now on on these sandy, poor, clay-limestone or clay-gravel soils, poor and poorly irrigated, where the vines suffer to produce their best juice. Massimo and Antonella practice organic, biodynamic viticulture, entirely manual and natural to give new life to these wines. Vinyater, sumoll, garrut, monastrell, ull de perdiu, ull de llebre, sumoll, queixal de llop, cariñena, trepat, subirat parent, maccabeu, parellada, pansé, vinel·lo, bobal, cartoixà vermell or xarel·lo: Partida Creus is a veritable conservatory of native Catalan grape varieties. It also grows moscatel, grenache, merlot and cabernet (among others). Few wineries can boast growing so many different grape varieties. The wines reflect this diversity, with the winemakers striving to best convey the signature of the soil and the grape variety: single-variety wines 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 denote the vintage. The wines, fresh, vibrant, lush yet always straightforward and impeccably juicy and fruity, exude life. The arrival of a Partida Creus at the table always elicits cries of satisfaction.

Adonis Red 2022,

La Grapperie

Adonis is the red counterpart of Aphrodite and a superb organic (Ecocert) and natural dry white wine from the Coteaux du Loir, vinified by Renaud Guettier of La Grapperie, without additives, sulfites, or chemical additives.

Vinification

Adonis is made from Pineau d'Aunis, one of the oldest grape varieties in the Loire Valley Western. The vines, pruned in goblet form, are on average seventy-five years old and grow on black silt and limestone (tuffeau) soils. The harvest is manual, transported on horseback. Aging is twelve months in barrels.

Tasting

Draped in a beautiful garnet color, Adonis offers a complex nose of red fruits: strawberry, cherry, smoked blackberry, sweet herbs… On the palate, a beautiful structure between black pepper and raspberry. Spicy, fruity and peppery, with a lovely sweet and yeasty note on the attack that adds to its deliciousness, it is a gastronomic wine. You can pair it with oily fish (tuna, mackerel, sardines), sea or freshwater fish stews with red wine, but also roasts or grilled beef, charcuterie and traditional stews.

Learn more about Renaud Guettier and La Grapperie

In the Coteaux du Loir appellation, La Grapperie is the name of the estate of Renaud Guettier, who can be described as a master of Chenin, but also of Pineau d'Aunis, which is one of the oldest grape varieties in the Loire Valley.

The estate

Renaud's 60 hectares of vines, on the hillside, are protected from the north winds by the Bercé forest. Depending on the altitude, the terroirs are predominantly clay, flint or sand. The grape varieties are the two traditionally authorized in the appellation: Chenin for the whites and Pineau d'Aunis for 90% of the reds, the rest consisting of a few ares of Côt, Gamay and Grolleau. Some vines are more than a hundred years old.

In the vineyard and the winery

The entire estate is cultivated organically. The soils are worked and all viticultural interventions are manual, including the harvest, carried out at full maturity, which is reflected in the fullness and smoothness of the wines. For the reds, the Pineau d'Aunis is partially destemmed (depending on the plot) and the macerations are quite long, three to four weeks, with punching down, to promote aging potential. The wines are aged in barrels for between twelve and twenty-four months, then racked, blended and bottled without filtration. For the whites, the Chenins are pressed directly at low pressure then put into barrels with complete malolactic fermentation, for at least eighteen months, malolactic included, and sometimes up to thirty-six months.

Brut Nature Blanc de Noirs Malvasia Sparkling White 2020

Clos Lentiscus
This sparkling cava from Catalonia is unrivaled in its distinction and stands up to even the most respectable champagnes, despite being classified as a Vino de Mesa (table wine). Made entirely from Malvasia, an ancient Mediterranean grape variety that thrives particularly well on the limestone soils of Sitges, this festive wine offers fine, creamy bubbles and a pale gold color, deeper than most wines of its style. Its olfactory notes of white fruits and lemon peel, its creamy, intense, and fresh flavor with tropical accents have everything to seduce. Its aromatic persistence is remarkable. It can be tried with foie gras, for example, but also with so many other delectable things!

To find out more
Purity, elegance, and a crisp minerality due to limestone characterize the productions of Clos Lentiscus. The note of controlled oxidation, when it is felt, does not dominate the tasting, and the wines are never deviant. The cavas are known for being exuberant, but those of Clos Lentiscus never have more than two grams of residual sugar per liter. The estate also produces still wines, red, white, and rosé. Located in Sitges, Catalonia, Clos Lentiscus is a winery in the heart of the Garraf Natural Park. Manel Avinyo and his brother Joan took over the family estate, renamed Clos Lentiscus by Manel. Even though Barcelona is only a half-hour drive away, the beauty of the landscape is striking and the immersion in nature is total: Mediterranean forests rub shoulders with Catalan scrubland (thyme, rosemary, rockrose, mastic tree which gave its name to the estate, etc.). The Penedès region also has a long winemaking history. Nestled in its gentle hills is Clos Lentiscus, in the Penedés appellation, on twenty hectares of sandy and clay-limestone soils facing due south at an altitude of 225 meters. According to historical documents, Manel and Joan Avinyo's family has been established there since at least the 14th century. For a long time, the grapes were sold to local cooperatives, but as soon as the two brothers took over the estate, organic and biodynamic farming replaced conventional practices, the entire harvest goes into the house vintages, and organic and biodynamic practices have allowed this beautiful property to regain its former prestige: in the 19th century, its wines were sold in France and as far away as the Americas. Very quickly, Manel received a nickname: The Bubbleman, a tribute to his talent for vinifying cavas, these sparkling whites characteristic of the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, from indigenous varieties for which Catalonia holds the secret: sumoll, ull de llebre, xarel·lo, malvasia of Sitges, cartoixà vermell, cariñena (carignan), accompanied by tempranillo and muscat of Alexandria. The vines are old, some of them centuries old. No synthetic additives are used in the vineyard, and operations such as planting, pruning, de-budding, and harvesting are dictated by the lunar phases. Pollination is facilitated by the presence of beehives; sheep contribute to fertilization and control of the plant cover. Ringo, the white horse, is responsible for working the soil.

Grande Pestilence Rouge 2019

La Sorga
Antony Tortul loves old vineyards: he devotes his life to finding and vinifying them. Just as there are landless shepherds, he can be defined as a landless winegrower, in other words, a wine merchant whose area of ​​activity extends throughout Languedoc and, eastward, as far as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, in search of the best terroirs. Born in Foix, with six years of experience as a wine technician and oenologist in various vineyards in the south of France, he created La Sorga in 2008. His enthusiasm leads him on a path filled with favorites, and each of these favorites is a vineyard. The result is a dizzying mosaic of natural, lively, and spirited wines, which reinvents itself each year with around thirty cuvées per vintage. Few winemakers can list such a variety of grape varieties on their menu: the whole of southern France is there with muscats, grenaches, picpoul, mauzac, carignan, cinsault, marsanne, alicante, braucol, duras, viognier, len-de-l’el, and tutti quanti.

The label and the name with their pestilential connotations should not make this wine pass for what it is not: no morbid stench will disturb your experience once the bottle is opened. The nose, on the contrary, is of great aromatic complexity: black fruits, humus, white pepper, peony, and on the palate the citrus peel typical of the schist soils of the Faugères region and particularly Cabrerolles, from which this wine comes. The texture is very rounded, the finish is long and already very straight! No sulfites, no filtration, nothing else for that matter. The blend is made from sixty percent Cinsault (sixty-five-year-old vines), twenty percent Grenache (sixty-five-year-old vines), and twenty percent Carignan (sixty-five-year-old vines). Vinification is done in whole bunches in a quasi-infusion for sixty days for Cinsault and forty-five days for the other grape varieties. Once everything is blended, aging is one year in vats. It will keep well for a good ten years.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs Malvasia Sparkling White 2017

Clos Lentiscus
In Sitges, Catalonia, Clos Lentiscus is a winery located in the heart of the Garraf Natural Park. Manel Avinyo and his brother Joan took over the family estate, which Manel renamed Clos Lentiscus. Even though Barcelona is only a half-hour drive away, the beauty of the landscape is striking and the immersion in nature is complete: Mediterranean forests rub shoulders with Catalan scrubland (thyme, rosemary, rockrose, and the mastic tree, which gave the estate its name, etc.). The Penedès region also has a long winemaking history. Nestled in its gentle hills is Clos Lentiscus, in the Penedés appellation, on twenty hectares of sandy and clay-limestone soils facing due south at an altitude of 225 meters. According to historical documents, the family of Manel and Joan Avinyo has been established there since at least the 14th century. For a long time, the grapes were sold to local cooperatives, but since the two brothers took over the estate, organic and biodynamic farming has replaced conventional practices, the entire harvest goes into the house vintages, and organic and biodynamic practices have allowed this beautiful property to reconnect with its former prestige: in the 19th century, its wines were sold in France and as far away as the Americas. Very quickly, Manel received a nickname: The Bubbleman, a tribute to his talent for vinifying cavas, these sparkling whites characteristic of the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, from native varieties for which Catalonia holds the secret: sumoll, ull de llebre, xarel·lo, malvasia of Sitges, cartoixà vermell, cariñena (carignan), accompanied by tempranillo and muscat of Alexandria. The vines are old, sometimes centuries old. No synthetic additives are used in the vineyard, and operations such as planting, pruning, de-budding and harvesting are dictated by the lunar phases. Pollination is facilitated by the presence of beehives; sheep contribute to fertilization and control of the plant cover. Ringo, the white horse, is responsible for working the soil.

Purity, elegance and a crisp minerality due to limestone characterize the productions of Clos Lentiscus. The note of controlled oxidation, when it is felt, does not dominate the tasting and the wines are never deviant. Cavas are known for being exuberant, but those of Clos Lentiscus never have more than two grams of residual sugar per liter. The estate also produces still wines, red, white and rosé.

Made entirely of Malvasia (Malvasia), an ancient Mediterranean grape variety that thrives particularly well in Sitges, this cava offers fine, creamy bubbles and a pale gold color, deeper than that of most wines of its style. Its olfactory notes of white fruits and lemon peel, its creamy, intense and fresh flavor with tropical accents have everything to seduce. Its aromatic persistence is remarkable. It is worth trying with foie gras.

GT Garrut Rouge 2017, Partida Creus
A Catalan cousin of Mourvèdre, the Garrut grape variety forms the basis of this wine with its intensely purplish color, a journey to the depths of black fruits, notably blackberry or bramble: intense, brilliant, earthy, completely atypical. It evokes the family vine, artisanal and free wine, the garrigue and fig leaf. Will accompany bellota ham, the best cured meats and terrines, spicy dishes, Chinese cuisine. Should be served fairly chilled (15 °C).
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Auguste Red 2019,

Sous le Végétal

Auguste is the only dry red wine from the Sous le Végétal project. It takes its name from the indigenous Greek avgoustiatis grape variety, from which it is made entirely. It is a light wine that, through its Mediterranean nature, recalls something of the reds of the Jura: a characteristic earthy and mineral note, plenty of character—prune, clove, anise, vanilla, cherry jam, rich tannins, and, on the finish, a salinity due to the mineral-rich soils (particularly schist and limestone) of the island of Samos. The fruity notes remain taut and elegant. Decanting is recommended. The vines grow on the foothills of Mount Karvounis, not far from the village of Pagondas. The wine is a blend of four types of rock on two plots. The Avgoustiatis ('the august') grape variety is a rare variety, the first red grape variety harvested in Greece. It is cultivated organically in conversion to permaculture. The vines, pruned in the 'goblet' style, are harvested by hand on the morning of August 15th. The wine is first obtained by a forty-day maceration of whole bunches in stainless steel vats. Half of the vinification is done in 500-liter Stockinger barrels and the other half in ovoid concrete vats. The wine is completely additive-free, unfiltered, and bottled by gravity. The black bottle ensures the wine ages and the closure is made with a cork sealed with a mixture of paraffin and black beeswax.
To find out more
Under the plant lies the mineral: this is the meaning of this concept of natural vintages created in Greece, on the island of Samos, by a team of friends gathered around the winemakers Jason Ligas and Patrick Bouju. The successful enterprise marks a renaissance of the thousand-year-old vineyard of this island in the North Aegean Sea, which owes its dense and woody vegetation to various nicknames received in Antiquity, from Dryoussa (“covered with oaks”) to Kyparissia (“covered with cypresses”) and Melamphyllos (“With dark foliage”). This natural wealth covers a unique and varied subsoil: volcanic rocks and notably basalts, limestone, quartz, pink granites, schists, iron cast irons… The idea was born from Jason’s meeting with the Samos Wine Cooperative. Patrick Bouju soon joined the project. The five vintages of Sous le Végétal—Livia, Hüpnos, Octave, Palli & Genesia and Auguste—are produced on around sixty plots of Samos Muscat à petits grains (and Avgoustiatis for the red vintage), between 400 and 910 meters above sea level. Each plot is vinified separately. For vinification, four types of containers are used: amphorae, concrete eggs, stainless steel vats and 500-liter barrels. Each locality is vinified in at least two of the four containers and the aging takes place in black bottles sealed with wax. No added sulfur, no filtration: Samos' winemakers are rediscovering wine as it was made in their childhood. This is one of the wonders of natural wine: it allows, through the most innovative projects, to reconnect with forgotten traditions. Sous le Végétal also takes under its wing the A la Natural vintages by Patrick Bouju.

VNRA Vinel lo Rouge 2018

Partida Creus
VN, Vinel·lo Ancestral Red, is a natural sparkling wine resulting from a blend of indigenous grape varieties: Samsó (Cinsault), Garrut (Mourvèdre), Trepat, Ull de Perdiu, Queixal de Llop, Sumoll, and Grenache Noir, harvested from predominantly limestone soils. After crushing, the musts from the different grape varieties ferment one after the other and are gradually added, thus extending fermentation with indigenous yeasts. Fermentation completes in the bottle, for ten months, on fine lees. No filtration, no additives, and no added sulfites. A fruity, very fresh sparkling wine with floral and yeasty notes. Very long finish.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Garnata Red 2010

Barranco Oscuro

A smooth, characterful wine. Aromas of crushed wild blackberries like cocoa. High-altitude Grenache.
This Grenache comes from a plot planted between 1,300 and 1,368 meters above sea level on slate and schist soils. The destemmed harvest macerates in stainless steel vats. Alcoholic fermentation occurs spontaneously using native yeasts present in the environment, without any additives. The fermentation temperature is not altered: the coolness of autumn nights is sufficient (the winery is also at an altitude of 1,280 meters). Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally in barrels during aging in the underground cellar.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Divin Poison White 2021

De Vini

Divin Poison is a dry, organic, biodynamic, and natural white wine made by Christophe Bosque of Domaine De Vini from Melon de Bourgogne grapes grown in the Nantes region. Classified as a Vin de France and harvested from gabbro soils characteristic of the area, it has all the qualities of a (very good) Muscadet, except for the appellation.

Ull de Llebre Sumoll Red 2019,

Cyclic Beer Farm

Cyclic Beer Farm is a duo of friends from Barcelona, Alberto and Joshua. Based in the Catalan capital, they have two sides to their business: beer (Cyclic Beer) and wine (Cyclic Wine). The beers, inspired by the Belgian model, are available in surprising and colorful ranges where expertly measured yeast cocktails and house brews combine with varied macerations of fruits, vegetables, herbs and grape marc from traditional Catalan varieties, the latter taken after the fermentation of their wines - because the second part is the wine, made exclusively from native Catalan grape varieties. As merchant winemakers, Alberto and Joshua themselves harvest by hand from organic wineries throughout Catalonia and bring the harvest to their winery-brewery workshop in La Sagrera (Barcelona). There they sort the grapes, tread them under foot and vat the must using exclusively indigenous yeasts. Depending on the type of wine, skin maceration takes place on the skins and stems for between one and three days for the whites and between six and fifteen days for the reds. The free-run juice is then transferred without pressing into stainless steel tanks where fermentation continues before bottling. The skins and stems, and sometimes part of the juice, are then used for the maceration of saison beers: an interesting synergy between beer and wine. No sulfites are added during vinification; nothing is added or removed from the wine, which is never filtered. The harvest and other viticultural operations are decided according to the lunar calendar.
At the time we tasted this red wine, it was still searching a little, but at the time of writing, it must have found its place and be resting comfortably on its balanced tannins and fruity complexity. It is a well-balanced wine between body presence and lightness, round and aromatic. It is a blend of Catalan grape varieties Ull de Llebre (70%) and Sumoll (30%) harvested by hand in Torrelavit (Upper Penedès) and Mas Llorenç (Lower Penedès) on limestone and clay soils. The Ull de Llebre vines are young (fifteen years old) and the Sumoll vines are very old (up to one hundred years old). The altitude of the plots is between 230 and 260 meters. The harvest, entirely manual, is sorted, and then ten percent is trodden by foot. A semi-carbonic maceration follows for twenty-seven days, after which the wine completes its fermentation in stainless steel vats.

Cuvée YARD II (exclusive cuvée) Red 2021

Aubert & Mathieu
We are pleased to present the YARD II cuvée, designed and produced using organic and natural viticulture (AB, Eurofeuille, B-Corp labels, etc.) by the Carcassonne-based wine merchant Aubert et Mathieu. This is a red wine from Languedoc-Roussillon in the IGP Pays d’Oc appellation, resulting from an exclusive partnership between Aubert and Mathieu and YARD-Culinaries.

Vinification
The blend is composed of Grenache (60%) and Syrah (40%) growing on clay-limestone soils. Vinification lasts approximately three weeks and aging is done in concrete vats for six months. No sulfites are added during vinification or bottling.

Tasting
A true wine from the South, from the Pays d’Oc, with the fullness of Grenache and the depth of Syrah. Beautiful ruby ​​color, lots of red fruits (cherry, strawberry), a little violet and sweet spices, a fresh structure, beautiful body and a nice length on the palate. With these crisp and peppery tannins, you will enjoy roast pork, charcuterie, cured meats and Mediterranean cuisine such as pizza, pasta with tomato sauce or elaborate tapas.

Learn more about Aubert et Mathieu
Aubert et Mathieu is a trading brand located in Carcassonne, in the hands of Anthony and Jean-Charles. Innovating in forms as far as possible - this is reflected in the graphics of the eco-designed labels and a certain mix of genres -, they offer true terroir wines (with or without appellation) made with respect for the environment, using organic and sometimes natural viticulture. Nature is notably represented by the YARD cuvée, produced in partnership with YARD-Culinaries.

Methodology
Aubert and Mathieu buy organic grapes from around thirty winegrowers in Languedoc and Roussillon: local grape varieties (syrah, mourvèdre, grenache, carignan, etc.), chardonnay, sauvignon, etc. The house observes great vigilance over the process, chooses the degree of maturity of the grapes (not too ripe), and produces the wines in the winegrowers' own cellars. They include in their collection of organic and eco-responsible labels that of B-Corporation, one of the most demanding in the world.

A sustainable and innovative wine
Anthony and Jean-Charles are committed to offering "sustainable" and superior quality ("premium") wines, affirming their dedication to protecting the planet. Even if one of their vintages was produced with the help of ChatGPT, the Languedoc winemaking traditions are not lost sight of (it should be noted that the name of this vintage, The End, alludes to the limits that they themselves found in the approach).