# Partida Creus CL (2023)

- **Producer:** Partida Creus
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Garnatxa Blanca, Garnatxa Negra
- **Region:** Catalonia, Spain
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 11.5%
- **Average price:** €22
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 6–8 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** grapefruit, orange, blossom, strawberry, cherry, herbaceous

## About this wine

Celler Partida Creus was founded in 2001 in Bonastre, Baix Penedès, by Italian former architects Massimo Marchiori and Antonella Gerosa. Driven by a passion for traditional viticulture, they dedicated themselves to recovering abandoned, historic native Catalan grape varieties. The 'CL' cuvée stands for Clarete, honoring an ancient Iberian winemaking tradition where white and red grapes from the same vineyard are harvested and co-fermented together rather than blended after fermentation. Practicing organic and biodynamic farming in the vineyard alongside zero-intervention principles in the cellar, Partida Creus represents a benchmark for natural wine producers in Spain.

## Interesting facts

- The name CL stands for Clarete, an ancient Iberian style of co-fermenting red and white grapes together.
- Founders Massimo Marchiori and Antonella Gerosa are former architects from Italy who moved to Catalonia to revive forgotten vines.
- The estate vineyards are managed naturally using traditional draft animals, including a donkey named Orazio.

## Food pairing

The high natural acidity, bright citrus tone, and crisp mineral backbone of this zero-zero co-ferment make it exceptionally versatile with savory tapas, cured meats, fresh seafood, and light rice dishes without overpowering gentle flavors.

## Wine making process

Organically grown grapes are harvested by hand in small crates from 25 to 35-year-old vines grown on calcareous-clay soils. The blend consists of roughly two-thirds Garnatxa Blanca and one-third Garnatxa Negra. The white grapes undergo two days of skin contact, while the red grapes undergo four days of maceration. Fermentation occurs spontaneously using only wild yeasts in 10,000-liter stainless steel tanks over the winter months. The wine rests in stainless steel tanks prior to bottling without added sulfites, fining, or filtration.