Follow the coast west from Barcelona and you’ll find Bonastre, a small town in the Massís de Bonastre, a few kilometres from the Mediterranean shore. It’s a dry landscape of hills and valleys, part scrubland and part agriculture, with grapes, olives and almonds as the main crops. Emilie began her winemaking journey here in earnest in 2017, working for Antonella and Massimo of Partida Creus, who she met at a wine fair in the Loire before becoming part of their team and forming a long-lasting friendship. It was here that she made her first wine; the first iteration of E.T., produced with fellow harvester Tom Colman. Emilie studied oenology after changing careers but, in her words, learned mostly by doing; first at Partida Creus and then with her own vines. She tends around two hectares of Paradella, Sumoll and Xarel·lo, old vines of 50 to 70 years that are planted in separate plots on limestone and clay soils. A few years ago she co-planted Monastrell and Grenache, and with last year bringing more rain than usual for the region the young vines flourished, producing a small amount of grapes destined for the latest vintage of E.T.
Each vintage sees a slightly different version of this signature wine, depending on the shifting weather and the quantity of fruit that year. Working adaptively, Emilie adjusts her methods and maceration times in response, always producing wines without any additives or sulphur. E.T. 2022 is a co-fermentation of three traditional varieties: Cartoixa Vermell, a white grape with a reddish skin, Parellada, often used for sparkling wine, and Ull de Llebre, known elsewhere as Tempranillo. Whole bunches are macerated for two weeks in direct press juice, before around ten months in fibreglass. Lively and with slightly bitter, herbal notes, it’s a wine to drink with friends – delicate and with a free soul, it evolves quickly once opened. Drink slightly chilled.