Partida Creus - Natural Wine Legends! (VIDEO)
Partida Creus is one of the most iconic names in the natural wine scene.
See the video below or read for context.
Set up in Catalonia in Spain by the super-charming Italians Massimo Marchiori & Antonella Gerona in 2001, this famous natural winery is committed to reviving old vines of indigenous and lesser-known grape varieties.
Partida Creus and Forgotten Grape Varietals
Patrida Creus is special in that unlike the locals in their direct area, Massimo and Antonella took a chance on old vines of regional grape varieties - meanwhile, their neighbours thought they were crazy to not tear them up in favour of growing more mainstream, profitable grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
Their vineyards are mainly old, low-yielding vines of grape varieties that were long considered forgotten or obsolete by other winegrowers in the area: Sumoll, Garrut, Trepat, Bobal, and Cartoixa Vermell among others.
Whenever an opportunity arises, they buy or lease vineyards with such vines from neighboring winegrowers in order to farm them sustainably - they even accepted an abandoned plot of Bobal bush vines even though it was 400km from Bonastre in Narboneta!
Natural Wines with Nothing Added
In the vineyard, everything is farmed sustainably, no pesticides are used, and grapes are hand harvested with the help of his friends Orazio and Vincenza (a donkey and a mule).
In the cellar, there is more observation than intervention, pretty much all bottles having none at all. Cuvees are fermented in steel tanks, while single-varietal wines are often matured in various tyles of oak barrels.
The resulting wines have a fresh acidity, direct fruit, and are lower in alcohol - quaffable, refreshing, and perfect for a sunny day!
Partida Creus Visit
We visited Partida Creus in October 2023, and were lucky to arrive just as the grape crush was happening so there was a good amount of action to shoot. We asked Antonella and Massimo about life, their philosophy to wine, working together and more.
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