Xarelo del Noguer 2018, 2017

In keeping with his passion for constant innovation, some years ago Pepe Raventós began to experiment with making the purest wines possible, in the garage of his home. He wanted to restore the Penedes farmhouse and create authentic and experimental wines there. The willingness to show his wines as they are, encouraged him to make wine without sulphites as a way of working and understanding life. The garage, a small, clean and exclusive space, with air free from yeasts from the second fermentation, is where he experimented with amphoras, cement and brisados (skin-contact wine), and where he makes the wines that he loves the most; it is his most pure and personal project. The maximum attention is focused on the vineyards, working meticulously throughout the whole agricultural year, such as green pruning, winter pruning, making soldiers … so that the air circulates among the grapes minimizing the onset of diseases. The varieties are Xarel·lo and Bastard Negre, a native red grape that Pepe cares about regenerating. The vineyard is worked according to the biodynamic principles (Demeter Certified) following the lunar calendar for the work on the vines, and we make our own biodynamic preparations. We apply compost from the animals from our little farm. All the work in the vineyard is done by hand and, when required, with the help of horses. The soils on the estate are calcareous. The first layer comprises of roots of up to 1 meter that live in the clay along with nutrients, organic matter and water. The second layer is from 1 meter down and this is where the plant meets the compact clays known locally as galera- calcareous base rock encrusted with marine fossils. In winemaking, Pepe go to the limit and from 2014 – in the garage of the Mas del Serral- he ferment the following plots separately and naturally- Del Mas, El Noguer and Terrazas del Serral. Once the grapes have matured in a healthy way, the wine can be allowed to develop with minimal intervention in the cellar; yeast, sugar, chemicals and temperature control are not used in the winemaking, making the process as natural as possible. The production is very limited.