Mirabelles 2019

A dry white wine at 10.5% vol. that draws its impact from tension rather than weight. Pale straw yellow with golden highlights, a bright fruity nose, and a saline edge imparted by the cool nights at altitude.

Celler Credo works in the Alt Penedès, Catalonia's highest subzone. The vines grow up to 600 metres, surrounded by forests and threaded with wild fennel, Catalan daisies and wild radish. Ton Mata, third generation of the Recaredo family, runs the vineyard as an ecosystem: horses plough the rows, sheep graze in winter, and insects and small animals are regarded as co-contributors.

Single-varietal Malvasia, an aromatic grape with a long Catalan tradition. The 2019 vintage fermented fully dry, aged without haste. Winemaker Nuria Arteaga, at the helm since 2017, is responsible. Celler Credo is the family's still-wine project, born from a wish to explore Mediterranean grape varieties beyond the sparkling wine tradition.

Fragrant with mirabelle plum, citrus blossom and white peach, followed by wild herbs and a hint of Mediterranean scrubland. The body stays lean, the acidity lively, the finish dry and saline.

With marinated fish, with tapas featuring olives and pickled vegetables, with goat cheese salad with honey, with Mediterranean vegetable dishes and with a simple herbed rice dish.

In 2003 the family switched to organic farming; after seminars with Maria Thun and Claude Bourguignon, biodynamic certification followed in 2010, the first in the Penedès.