Alella A Coco Oriol Artigas 2023

Alella A Coco Oriol Artigas, biodynamic orange wine, Pansa Blanca and Garnatxa Negra (Grenache Noir), wild and free this wine, in every sense and the emotion when drinking can only be pure joy, what wine should elicit, say no more.  This is one of those excellent natty wines which is not pigeon holed into one of the classic categories of red, white or blue.  The Pansa (Xarel-Lo) is macerated with the skin as if to make orange wine, and the red Grenache grapes are fermented as whole bunch so a very light skin contact as if to make a Rose.  The colour is a bit bonkers (in a good way) and the texture and flavours are superb.. Wine like this is also extremely versatile and you can drink on its own or with pretty much any food.

This tiny 5 hectare estate is located 15 kilometers north Barcelona in one of Spain's smallest DOs (just 220ha). The proximity to the Mediterranean, granite soils called Sauló, and a plethora of native vines has inspired a few growers to work and protect this area from extinction.

Originally trained as a chemist, Oriol Artigas discovered a love for winemaking after working on a harvest in Penedes, before setting up his own venture and releasing his first vintage in 2011. His over-arching philosophy is to.... 'cultivate the vineyards in the most natural and least interventionist way possible, to allow the grape to express in the most intense way the landscape from which it comes.'

He plants according to the lunar cycle, uses natural fermentation, minimal sulphites and leaves his wines unfiltered and un-fined. The result is wines that are often rich in minerality, conjuring aromas that will take you all the way to the Mediterranean. A true vanguard of the natural wine movement, and the sort of winemaker we love to support.

His wines go from strength to strength despite the challenges of lack of water and ever increasing temperatues in the region.  Oriol combats these problems by creating very hardy, resistant vines due to biodynamic production and also by picking early to maintain the acidity.  As a result, despite the heat, the wines are generally low abv at around 11% but are never under ripe or green in character.  They are absolutely delicious, the bottles are super cool and the philosophy is spot on.. Top work Oriol.  Oh and he is a dude as well!