# QX Brisat (2023)

- **Producer:** Mas Candí
- **Colour:** orange
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Xarel·lo
- **Region:** Catalonia, Spain
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 12.2%
- **Average price:** €20
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** No
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 10–12 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** orange, peach, apricot, fennel, herbaceous, brioche, pastry, cedar, dried apricot, almond, honey

## About this wine

Celler Mas Candí was established in 2006 in Les Gunyoles d'Avinyonet within the Alt Penedès region by winegrowers Ramon Jané, Mercè Cuscó, and Toni Carbó. The project was created to preserve and honor old vineyards originally planted by their grandparents. Working organically and biodynamically, the estate focuses on indigenous Catalan grape varieties and minimal-intervention winemaking techniques to convey the distinctive limestone-rich terroir of their parcels.

## Interesting facts

- 'Brisat' is the historical Catalan term for skin-contact white winemaking, traditionally practiced in the region.
- The wine is aged in a unique blend of three vessels: chestnut barrels, acacia wood, and clay amphorae.
- Grown on old vines between 50 and 70 years of age using organic and biodynamic viticulture.

## Food pairing

The gentle phenolic texture and skin-contact tannins of this orange wine cut through rich fats in pork and poultry while complementing earthy mushroom and roasted herbal dishes. Its crisp acidity lifts oily fish and savory tapas without dominating delicate textures.

## Wine making process

Hand-harvested from 50 to 70-year-old Xarel·lo vines planted on clay-limestone soils at 250–300 meters elevation. The grapes undergo a 24-hour cold maceration followed by 14 days of skin maceration (brisat). Fermentation occurs spontaneously with wild yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. The wine is aged for 10 months split between chestnut wood barrels (40%), acacia wood barrels (40%), and clay amphorae (20%). It is bottled un-fined, unfiltered, and with no added sulfites.