Carriel dels Vilars Blanc Petillant 2021

Emporda, Catalunya, Spain

Carriel dels Vilars Blanc Petillant is an intriguing pet nat sparkling wine from the Catalunya region in the northeast of Spain. Carles Alonso crafts paranormal wine in the shadows of the Pyrenees with grapes from his wild jungles of vineyards. He left his job as director of investments at Caixa Catalunya in 1979 to build his stone house in the tiny hamlet of Els Vilars, grow his own food, and craft natural wine from 2.5ha of slate slopes 250m above sea level. His vines grow wild among native grasses, flowers, and bugs, competing for water and struggling for nutrients in Girona’s arid climate, untended but for a single aggressive winter pruning and a touch of caldo bordelés after flowering. Their savage fruit makes for haunting wine full of Mediterranean character kept fresh by the tramontana that blows from the mountains to the north.

Our wonderful sales rep for the importer just returned from a memorable visit to Catalunya. Kate described this wine like this: "Organic. A blend of Garnacha Blanca, Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel·lo from estate vineyards. Fermented with native yeast and bottled without SO2. Carles does not do email or tech info really - just buy the wine. It’s delicious and built to last. Only 25cs available for the NY market.” We just bought the wine!

Enjoy Carriel dels Vilars Blanc Petillant as an apéritif and with filet of sole, grilled shrimp, paella, chicken salad, and fruit desserts.