Antonella and Massimo hail from Piedmont, with a joint background in architecture and a mutual love of nature. Tired of city life, they moved to Bonastre around 2000 where they began to grow vegetables and fruit, and to make wine for themselves from a small vineyard that came with the land. Architectural knowledge combined with raw energy enabled them to design and build their own winery, while a passion for nature meant a rejection of pesticides and additives; a blanket rule for each and every crop. It’s been their mission since day one to find indigenous grapes, seeking out and purchasing abandoned plots rich with old vines, or replanting almost forgotten varieties. The first variety they discovered was Sumoll: a red grape forsaken by Spanish winemakers in favour of more popular (and profitable) French varieties, and which was disqualified by the D.O. for its subdued colour. In the cellar there is more observation than intervention, with no filtration or additives, whole cluster macerations and ageing in stainless steel on full lees. The result is an impressive selection of lively, low ABV refreshing wines with great acidity – with names inspired largely by the grapes themselves.
CX 2021 is made with Cartoixà Vermell, also known as Xarel·lo Rosado - a light, red-skinned variety autochthonous to Catalonia. The grapes spent 90 days on skins, creating a wine that’s hard to categorise but falls somewhere between an orange and a rosé. Grapefruit, mandarin and a tiny bit of apricot. Drink around 12 degrees with spicy noodles.