Guix Vermell 2017

A red wine of cool disposition: bright red fruit, silky tannins, a moderate 13.0 % vol. Whole-cluster fermentation, amphora ageing and the absence of filtration keep the fruit ethereal rather than powerful.

The vines stand in the Les Montalts vineyard, a high plateau in Montsant at 800 metres above sea level. The soil is red clay, which also inspired the name: Guix Vermell means red gypsum. The climate is Mediterranean, and the altitude provides cool nights and slow ripening.

100 % Grenache from old bush vines, harvested early for moderate alcohol levels, with yields of 15 to 20 hectolitres per hectare. The whole clusters, stems included, are foot-trodden and fermented in 400-litre terracotta amphorae as well as concrete tanks. No oak is used. The wine clarifies through natural sedimentation and is bottled unfined and unfiltered, with minimal sulphur addition.

The nose shows brilliant red berry fruit: small strawberries, raspberry jelly and cherries, alongside mild ethereal spices on the top note. On the palate the fruit sits richly, silkily framed by caring tannins and carried by shimmering minerality. The finish stays cool and clean, with good length.

With pan-fried polenta with rosemary, garlic and elderberries, with monkfish wrapped in bacon with blackberries, and with venison medallions with smoked beetroot.

Only 1208 bottles. Terroir Sense Fronteres was founded in 2017 by Tatjana Peceric and Dominik Huber; Peceric shapes the project and has worked with Huber since 2012.