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It's well documented by now that we are huge fans of Oriol Artigas. 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 come from old vineyards that feature an abundance of nearly lost grape varieties, and are always fresh, full of energy and life. 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!
Oriol's operation is small and very hands-on. Harvesting and vine tending is all by hand, by necessity and by choice, the harvested grapes are quickly brought from the far flung slope and valley vineyards around Alella back to Mas Pellisser where they are pressed or allowed to ferment whole-cluster in stainless steel tanks. The winery is not large: there's a single press and multiple stainless steel tanks for fermentation and resting, and a variety of accompanying vessels and tools for winemaking. It would be incorrect to call this a one-man operation, as Oriol has helpers and friends in the vineyard and the cellar, but it is certainly small-scale and manual. And, of course, these are natural wines: the various vineyards are farmed organically with a variety of practices inspired by biodynamics, there are no additions or subtractions in the winery, and everything is done by hand.
Unlike the catastrophic 2020 vintage (see our article about his S.O.S. project last year), 2021 was a decent year in the region, with some loss, but overall good harvest for Oriol. The vintage was cooler than average, as was the case in much of Europe, and the wines are fresh and bright. Acidity is taut, fruit is wild, exuberant and even a little zesty, and the trademark chiseled minerality and salinity of certain wines is in full effect! Overall, we're really excited about 2021s from Oriol, we just wish there were more!
-Eben Lillie
Oriol Artigas 2021 Sammay Pet Nat Negre
This is a delicious and very lively ancestral style sparkling 'Pet-Nat,' made from Trepat, which is local to Catalunya. Vines are on sandy granitic soils. Grapes are split, with half seeing whole cluster, and the other half added to juice in an infusion style. The flavors are wild, with bright red fruit, and a touch of herbs. At 10% ABV, it's extremely thirst quenching, and sure to be noticed with it's vibrant color and curious aromas. Though undisgorged, it just needs to be properly chilled to avoid any kind of mess.
Oriol Artigas 2021 Alella La Rumbera Blanco
This is all Pansa Blanca from three different vineyard sites. It's a perfect introduction to the grape, and a gateway to Oriol's single-vineyard expressions. The parcels are all on granitic sand, which lends a particularly salty and spicy character to the wine. Mostly de-stemmed, with 20% of the grapes left on the skins for a short period (1-2 weeks), and aging for 10 months on the lees in stainless steel. Beautifully textured and also zippy and fresh.
Oriol Artigas 2021 Alella 'La Bella'
100 % Pansa Blanca from the northeast-facing Santa Maria vineyard of centenarian Pansa Blanca vines. The vineyard is very steep, and resembles an amphitheater that opens onto beautiful views of Barcelona. Harvest and vineyard work is all by hand. Fermentation is whole cluster for 10 days and aging is in stainless steel tanks for 10 years on lees. The nose shows granite spice, sea salt, and lemon zest. On the palate, salinity, lemon drops and mint, with a crystalline mineral finish.
Oriol Artigas 2021 Alella 'La Bestia'
La Bestia is 100% Pansa Blanca from the south facing 'Les Licorelles vineyards, on schist soils. The grapes are destemmed and see 11 days of skin contact, but Oriol doesn't pump over or punch down, preferring an infusion style. Since the berries have very thick skins, he didn't want to extract too much tannin during maceration. After fermentation in steel tanks and some old barrels (less than 20%), the wine is pressed into stainless steel for 11 months of aging on the lees. The wine is exuberantly aromatic, with a nose of salt, granite spice, lemon juice and peach flesh and a precisely textured palate of lemon, rock salt, granite, and nectarine.
Oriol Artigas (Bardissots) 2021 Alella Oriental Blanc
The Bardissots wines are a collaboration between Oriol Artigas and his former students Pepe and Pilar, and the Oriental labels are the newest additions to the line up. From young (six year old) vines of Moscatel planted in sandy soils by the beach near Alella, this is a fresh and floral white. Fermentation is whole cluster for about a week, before pressing to stainless steel and aging for 11 months.
Oriol Artigas 2021 Alella 'A Coco'
A Coco is a tasty, pinkish-hued wine, made from 75% Pansa Blanca and 25% Garnatxa Negra (Grenache Noir) from 23 year-old vines planted on Granitic sand. Oriol wanted to make a wine that was a bit of a snapshot of his vision and style, and of course he wanted to transmit a sense of the place (Alella), but at a more affordable price-point. 'A Coco' is a perfect introduction, nailing the "house style" with salinity and and vibrant, zippy acidity. Grapes are hand-harvested, fermented with skins for 5 days, with the Garnatxa whole cluster and Pansa Blanca destemmed. Aging is on the lees for 11 months. 10.5% ABV
Oriol Artigas 2021 Alella 'Lloritu'
'Lloritu' is named after a commonly eaten fish in the Mediterranean. The grapes for this wine come from an old vineyard located about 50 meters from the Mediterranean which is 50% Jaqué, and the other 50% to unknown hybrid grapes. Jacqué is a fascinating hybrid grape also known as Black Spanish in the United States. According to Jancis Robinson, this variety can most likely trace its history back to French Huguenot colonies around the Savannah river, and an accidental crossing between the native American Vitis Aestivalis and the imported European Vitis vinifera. Once widespread in Europe and the United States, it is now common only in Brazil. For Lloritu, Oriol harvests his grapes then macerates them for two days on their skins before fermentation with natural yeasts and resting in stainless steel tank. The resulting wine has a beautiful bright pink translucent hue, and a nose of tart cherry, anise and fennel. Aromas are rustic, and foxy, which Oriol says is very common with hybrids. The palate is light, fresh, and salty, with cherry and pomegranate notes around a mineral core.
Oriol Artigas 2021 Alella 'El Rall'
El Rall is a relatively new bottling from Oriol, from old vines of Merlot, Syrah, and Garnatxa, with small percentages of Sumoll and Mataro, from four sandy, granitic vineyards. Grapes are destemmed and see about 3 days of maceration, before aging mostly in stainless steel, and some old barrels. The wine is bottled without fining, filtering, or any additions. El Rall shows some grit and leather fromthe Merlot alongside bright and refreshing red and purple fruit and a bit of Syrah spice. Very elegant tannins and a mineral finish. At 11.5%, this bottling is refreshing and cooling, but not too light! Serve with a bit of a chill.
Oriol Artigas 2021 Bardissots 'Besavia'
A field blend of many varieties (Sumoll, Beier, Picapoll Negre, Garnatxa Negra, and more!) from the 90 year old Can Volart vineyard, near Oriol's vines in Alella. The soils here are clay and limestone. The grapes are all harvested together, by hand, then fermented whole-cluster and left to macerate with the skins for 11 days before resting in stainless steel tank. A tangy and exciting wine, very bright and zippy, with a touch of red fruit.
Oriol Artigas 2021 Alella El Rumbero
El Rumbero is all Garnatxa Negra in 2021, from vines that range from 15-25 years old, in the Alella appellation just north of Barcelona. Fermentation is whole cluster for about a week, before pressing into stainless steel for 11 months of aging. No filtration or clarification and no sulfites added. Light-medium bodied, with spicy red fruit, this is a great pairing, with a little bit of a chill, for grilled foods of all sort.
Oriol Artigas 2021 Alella La Rauxa Pet Nat
La Rauxa is a Pansa Blanca pet-nat that is deeeelish in 2021! Made from Pansa Blanca grapes next to his winery in Alella, La Rauxa shows classic Pansa Blanca minerality paired with the lightheartedness of pet-nat. Grapes are destemmed, and pressed into stainless steel tanks to begin fermentation, and the wine is then bottled with residual sugar. Fermentation is finished in the bottle and the wine is undisgorged. Oriol found that disgorging with such small quantities by hand often led to bottle variation, with some bottles less bubbly than others. The nose is saline and enticing, the bubbles are tiny and jubilant, and the palate is all peach, lime, salt and granite spice. There's also a long, mineral finish, which is not often expected from a Pet-Nat but is consistently present in Oriol's wines.