Bodega Clandestina, Xarel-lo, Sense Papers Blanc, Catalonia, Spain 2023

100% Xarel-lo

The grapes, from 50+ year old vines, are hand harvested at 3 different times as the individual bunches of fruit are ripe.

The first harvest (65% of the total wine) is fermented in stainless steel and then aged in demijohn for 3-4 months. The second harvest (25% of the total wine) is quickly macerated on the skins before fermentation, then pressed to stainless steel for fermentation, then ages 3-4 moths in demijohn. The 3rd harvest (10% of the total wine) is macerated on the skins  for 3 weeks during fermentation and then aged for 4 months in a 500 liter oak barrel. The 3 wines are then blended together and bottled, unfined, unfiltered, and with zero addition of sulfur.

Ferran Lacruz farms 8 hectares of vines in Catalonia, in the small village of Sant Marti Sarroca, in the heart of the Penedès wine region. Ferran started this project with his first vintage of 2018. He works completely outside of any appellation, farms the grapes organically, and is not adding anything to any of the wines. All the grapes are hand-harvested, and nothing is filtered or fined. Ferran grew up in this part of Catalonia, and since being a small child was seduced by the landscape, natural beauty, and the important of wine producing in the culture. He studied tourism in college, which left him feeling unfulfilled. So, with a friend, he began to embark on the journey of becoming a winemaker, looking to produce clean natural wines that express his homeland with honesty.