Clos Lentiscus Cartoixa' Vermell 2016

Cartoixa Vermell is the Catalan name for Pansa Rosada, a red-skinned somatic mutation of Xarello indigenous to Penedes. The grapes for this wine come from Vinya Martina, a single parcel planted in 1976 on calcareous sandy soils at the Can Ramon estate in Sant Pere de Ribes, within the Garraf Natural Park. At 740 feet elevation with the Garraf Mountains to the northeast and the Mediterranean to the south, the vines are dry-farmed and hand harvested.

This is made using the ancestral method: grapes are direct-pressed, cold-settled for 36 hours, then fermented spontaneously in 55-liter glass demijohns with native yeasts. Fermentation finishes in the bottle, where the wine ages on its fine lees for a minimum of 12 months before manual disgorgement. No fining, no filtration, and zero added sulfites — total SO2 is 10 mg/L.

The resulting wine pours a pale salmon-gold with fine, persistent bubbles. Pansa Rosada's low tannin content means the pink skin pigment contributes color without grip, keeping the wine light and refreshing. Expect aromas of grapefruit, white peach, pear, and a touch of flint from the calcareous soils, with a crisp, saline finish.

Manel Avino farms all 22 hectares of estate vineyards biodynamically, following the lunar calendar for all vineyard and cellar work. He stopped adding sulfites after his wife was diagnosed with stomach cancer. The estate has been in the Avino family since the 14th century.