We traveled to the l’Empordà, in the north of Catalonia, with the illusion of knowing the land of Salvador Batlle from Còsmic Vinyaters, who makes expressive natural wines with a deep love for his land. Between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean Sea, this region extends into a unique territory marked by the presence of the Tramontana, a wind that is strongly felt in most vineyards.
Salvador was present at the Vella Terra fair since the first edition and we don’t tremble when we say that it is the image and likeness of an avant-garde region in agriculture and natural vinification, one of the oldest in the world since the arrival of the greek and roman colonies, and a key point to the development and proliferation of vineyards throughout Spain.
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This winegrower came very young in 2013 to Agullana, a small town in the interior of the l’Empordà, Salvador, originally from Rodonyà, in the Baix Penedès, since his adolescence always had the illusion of making wines with his own style and above all without depending on nothing and nobody: (something that should be passed on to new generations): love for the land, wine, work and independence.
Moved of this concern begins to look for vineyards in Catalonia with the possibility of renting them, and by a stupendous chance finds in addition to vineyards a small winery in the center of Agullana and it is here where he applies all his will and establishes the roots of the Còsmic Vinyaters Project.
Salvador, from its inception, was clear that wine is made only with grapes and that it originates exclusively from a healthy and natural agriculture, respecting the cycles and with no or minimal chemical intervention.
Almost surprisingly, he tells us that in 2004 he was bottling (for family use) ancestral of Sumoll, demonstrating his desire to leave the classic winemaking of the Penedès and return to the origins of native strains.
The Empordà has approximately 2,000 hectares of vineyards, between the Alt and Baix Empordà, although counted with the fingers of one hand those that are worked in strictly ecological, biodynamic or natural agriculture. Also, he was fortunate that when he arrived he found a virtually virgin territory, since the vines he rented were long abandoned.
In a region exploited mainly in its most coastal side, Salvador grows between 300 and 400 meters high, enjoys good weather and good ventilation during different times of the year, he trusts us as the wind -Tramuntana- is a great help for someone that works an agriculture as overturned to the nature.
Biodynamic criteria, natural wines.
They do not have an animal contribution in their plots, and we can say with certainty proves that they practice biodynamic criteria with an unusual coherence and their natural wines are the reflection of a conscious work both on land and in the winery. For him, as for other few viticulturists, biodynamics is really a philosophy of life, and this is what we are most interested in: the sensitivity that shows towards certain themes, the theory and philosophy of this movement, which is to demonstrate with facts that what is being contributed is quality of life in the ecosystem, and making a vital final product created with manual processes and natural vinifications.
Throughout the year he works with all biodynamic preparations, according to the needs of his land. He tells us that due to the composition of his granitic / sandy ground, he seeks to plant for his vegetal, grass and legume cover with the intention of avoiding erosion by fixing atmospheric nitrogen in the soil in a natural way.
Among its vineyards you can see adventitious herbs and their flowers that brighten the view, next to a plot has its own compost tank that will serve as a nutrient for the soil and their own preparations.
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Rented 5 hectares and you can see the pride in their eyes when he talks about their Cariñenas – grey, white and red varieties – the queens of this Catalan region. Salvador also vinifies Marcelan, Sumoll, Macabeu, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabarnet Franc.
Salvador is in full evolution: after a walk among the vines he shows us his small winery in reform, just in the year where he first vinifies eleven references, he tells us how the characteristics of the different vintages influence his final decision to use different deposits, amphora, stainless steel or old wood in its final refinements, hardly their crianzas are repeated in the same way one year after the other, demonstration of crafts tied to the needs that nature sets.
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Courage, Trust, Patience: the Essence for good wines.
In the restaurant of the town of Agullana, Salvador makes us taste his wines, among all we emphasize:
Valentia 2016: Courage. Cariñena Blanca, probably the most seen reference in the city of Barcelona, surprises for its breadth in the mouth accompanied by typical citrus and balsamic notes of this variety, a wine that in its first years of life is presented with a typical tension of a healthy vitality.
Confiança 2016: Trust. Red Garnacha with a slight contribution of black Cariñena that surprised us for its finesse and at the same time being so deep, this is one of the wines tasted that most shows the hand and the wisdom of the winegrower, notes of sylvan orchard and red fruits are perfectly balanced, a wine that will eventually rest and gain even more complexity.
Paciència 2015: Patience. An ancestral 2015 of white Carinyena, a wine made in amphora clay with a single fermentation, a production of 800 bottles a year, very few restaurants in the world can afford to have it, in these years we have tasted many ancestral wines that perfectly identify their terroir with a lot of personality, ”Paciència” is a mix of elegance, finesse and persistence that is difficult to achieve by vinifying with this method, an authentic jewel of northern catalán wines.
To say goodbye and make a last conversation, Salvador takes us to the last farm at Llocató, a magical place near the village La Vajol, a small natural amphitheater where large and heavy rocks are still laid in a circular shape, probably an old settlement of centuries ago.
Right here in In the middle of its vineyards and in the shade of a centenary tree, we find small stones that form an altar, a perfect place for Salvador to surprise us with its ”Essència 2015’’.
A white vinified Carinyena with the help of a recipe from XI century widely used in Catalonia. Basically it is the reduction of the boiling flower must by concentrating sugars and acids, a wine that already from the nose is presented with an uncommon complexity, in the mouth notes of apricots and peaches mixed with vivacity to more ripe notes of caramelized and figs, it simply does not have an end, its concentration of acidity and low alcohol content (9%).
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He delight us and give us the demonstration that we are in front of one of the young catalan winegrowers / winemakers who has grown the most in recent years and who, thanks to his passion and will, once again gave the fair recognition to an important viticultural area with a great history in Catalonia and the most remarkable, with respect to the environment and in a natural way.
