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We are huge fans of Oriol Artigas, as a gentle soul and as a passionate winemaker. Though only making wines for around 10 years, he has become well known in natural wine circles, and his wines have wowed drinkers across the globe. Situated in the small town of Alella, just north of Barcelona, Oriol has been working with sandy, granitic vineyards overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, mostly planted to the local Pansa Blanca grape, which seems to be accepted as a relative of or a local version of Xarel-lo.
His whites and reds (normally from Garnatxa and other local grapes) are fresh, full of energy and life, always clean and very direct. There is a precision and a seriousness to his wines, even though they often drink in a playful way, and every year we look forward to trying his new vintages!
In 2020, Oriol unfortunately experienced a sudden attack of mildew on his parcels in June. Unlike any mildew attack Oriol had seen in his life, it came extremely fast, and wiped out nearly all of his grapes. In an effort to stay afloat, as he has very little if any reserve wine to sell, he sent out an S.O.S. to friends in Spain, Mallorca, and as far as Australia! Aside from one library release of his single vineyard La Bella bottling, all of the wines we are offering today will likely never be made again, and represent not only the guiding hand of Oriol's winemaking vision, but also the good will he has in the world, from being such a friendly and heartfelt human being. When he first began his project, barely paying his own rent and working with old vinegrowers in Alella, Jose Pastor paid him in advance for wine he had not produced yet, as a gesture of confidence and I can only guess because of Oriol's passion and positivity. The grapes that he received from friends in 2020 represent a continuation of this history, and reflect on Oriol's personality as much as his skill as a winemaker.
If you are curious to read more about his fantastic project in Alella, please check out one of our first articles, and the follow up from Ben Fletcher after his visit in 2019.
Thank you Oriol!!
and thanks to the fantastic Jose Pastor Selections team.
Oriol Artigas 2019 Alella La Bella
The grapes for La Bella come from a very steep, northeast-facing vineyard of centenarian Pansa Blanca vines. The vineyard resembles an amphitheater that opens onto beautiful views of Barcelona. The La Bèstia and La Bella vineyards face each other but yield quite different wines. Here, the soils are sandy and full of granite stones. Oriol and his friends tend the steep vineyard by hand, and the grapes from this plot are pressed, macerated on their skins for roughly two weeks, and raised in stainless steel tanks and used barrels. In the warm 2019 vintage, La Bella shows a bit bolder and a bit denser than in previous years but retains its signature minerality. The nose shows granite spice, sea salt, lemon zest, and yellow apple skin, which the palate echoes with notes of lemon, apple, pear around a firm mineral spine leading to a long, granitic finish.
Oriol Artigas 2020 S.O.S. #7 - Celler Pujol Skin Contact
The SOS #7 is 60% Lledoner Roig and 40% Carinyena Blanca from Celler Pujol Cargol, run by Oriol's friend David Pujol Cargol. The vines are in Emporda, in Cataluynya. A mix of young and old vines, some as old as 120 years, from a mix of clay and granitic sandy soils. There is a week of skin contact here. Probably my favorite skin contact wine on the shelf at the moment, the wine has a perfect balance of stone fruit, good material, subtle tannins, and a mineral finish. A well rounded wine, totally complete! -EL
Oriol Artigas 2020 Bardissots Vinyes Vellas
Bardissots is a project between Oriol and his friend Pep. Now there are several folks involved, all helping with the project. The Bardissots Vinyes Belles is a blend of Sumoll, Picapoll Negre, Pansa Blanca, and Malvasia Rosado from three vineyards, mostly close to Alella or slightly inland. Terroir here is a mix of sandy granitic soils, with clay and limestone for the vineyard that is further from the coast. Everything here is co-fermented, so the overall hue of the wine is a type of hazy peach color. Salty, fresh, and very mineral, this is an exciting wine and a great introduction to the trademark style of Oriol and Pep's wines.
Oriol Artigas 2020 S.O.S. #5 - Sel-Rel & Vi de Peus
This is a blend of local grapes from Mallorca, many of which we've never heard of before. Valent, Argamusa, Lagonau, Mantonegro, and Vinyater are on the list, so we can't tell you much about the varietal characteristics, but this is an island wine and the iron-rich clay soils and maritime influence give this light red great material in the mid-palate, and a lot of lift and mineral length. All grapes were cofermented, whole-cluster, with 11 days of maceration.
Oriol Artigas 2020 Samone - Oriol x Lucy Margaux
An unlikely occurrence.. a Catalan wine from Australia! Oriol was at Lucy Margaux winery in Australia for the 2020 harvest, and made this delightful Pet-Nat from estate fruit. It's a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Gamay, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Blanc. 2 days on the skins, aging in amphora. The finish is super clean, dry and compels you to return to the bottle for more. Tons of fun! Indeed, a bit pricey for a Pet-Nat, but the emotion the wine inspires may be worth it!
Oriol Artigas 2020 Alella Cuvee Total
The one single wine Oriol was able to make from his sandy vineyards in Alella, Cuvee Total is a blend of Pansa Blanca and Garnatxa, and is essentially La Bella and La Bestia, Rumbera and Rumbero... rolled into one. A wine with a great mid-palate and plenty of granitic structure and Mediterranean sea influence. Like his single vineyard wines, this should be put down for a little while, and will likely be best with 3-5 years. - EL
Oriol Artigas 2020 Bardissots Pet-Nat 'Oriental'
A wild Pet-Nat from vineyards just east of Oriol's plots in Alella. Mostly Ull de Llebre (Tempranillo) with 30% Moscatell d'Alexandria, the color is a deep rosé, with perfumed, floral aromas from the Moscatel, and tangy red fruit from the red grapes. Fermentation began in stainless steel with 10 days of maceration, and the wine was bottled with the lees before fermentation completed. Be careful when opening, as the wine was not filtered or fully disgorged, so there is a fair amount of sediment and lees resting in the bottle.The recommendation is to stand the bottle for 2 days and open it very cold! -EL
Oriol Artigas 2020 S.O.S. #8 - Frisach y Tuets
Mostly Parellada from Francesc Ferré, Oriol's friend from Celler Tuets, a fantastic producer of natural wines in Catalunya. There is a small percentage (about 15%) of Garnatxa also, from Celler Frisach, hence the Frisach & Tuets label. Parellada was destemmed, and fermented in steel with 3 days of skin contact, and the Garnatxa was mostly destemmed and saw 11 days of maceration. The lift and acidity of the Parellada are the main attractions here, giving the wine a lithe quality and contributing a very light texture from the skin contact. -EL
Oriol Artigas 2020 S.O.S. #2 - Cosmic Vinyaters
SOS #2 is from Macabeu and Moscatell sourced from Salvador Battle from Cosmic Vinyaters in Catalunya. A Pet-Nat in the end, the wine has a personality of a still, with really nice medium weight from the Macabeu and acidic lift from the Moscatell. Though a similar portion of Moscatell to the Bardissots Pet-Nat rosé, this one shows less of the floral aromatics, and gives more structure in the finish from the few days of maceration on the skins. Delightful!
Oriol Artigas 2020 S.O.S. #3 - Sangenis i Vague (Priorat)
SOS#3 is made from grapes from Pere Sandenis and Conxita Vague of Sangenis i Vague in Porrera, one of the sub-regions within Priorat. 60% Garnatxa Negra and 40% Carinyena from young vines on slate soil that is common in Priorat. The grapes are fermented whole cluster in steel tank and large used barrels, with 10 days of maceration. Though a wine with lift and lightness, there is a dark fruited profile here as well. The pedigree is there, and the wine is really stunning, especially when given some time to breathe. Though it is atypical perhaps for a Priorat, it is truly a wine of real length and quality.