Welcome to the wine club, where this month we’re exploring Catalunya, a region where the Mediterranean meets the mountains and tradition sits comfortably beside experimentation. From Priorat’s steep llicorella slopes, one of only two DOCa/DOQ regions in Spain, to the rolling chalk and limestone of Penedès with its 2,700-year winemaking history, the diversity here is hard to beat. You’ll find it in the grapes too: Grenache and Carignan at altitude, Xarel·lo and its pink-skinned cousin Xarel·lo Vermell, plus Sumoll and Macabeu, all shaped by salty sea air and dry, sun-drenched summers.
Right now, Catalan producers are leaning into what makes the region distinct. That means organic and biodynamic farming, old vines tended by family hands, and a low-intervention approach in the cellar. It also means rethinking categories. Skin-contact whites that bring texture and savoury depth. Sumoll from ancient plots, once written off as rustic, now showing finesse and freshness. Priorat still delivers its trademark licorice and mineral drive, but with more lift from high, ventilated sites. And traditional-method sparklers, many now under the strict Corpinnat designation, continue to prove why Penedès remains a benchmark for Mediterranean bubbles.
The wines I’ve chosen this month each tell part of that story: a chicken coop turned winery, a mascot boar on the label, 60-year-old vines beside the national park, and winemakers committed to biodiversity and whole-farm thinking. It’s Catalunya as it tastes today, rooted, expressive, and genuinely fun to drink.
Sophie Robson, Lilith, April 2026
Familia Gramona, Alliances, 2022
- Producer: Familia Gramona
- Vintage: 2022
- Alcohol: 12%
- Drink: 8°C
- Price: €40
- Region: Pendès, Spain
- Grapes: 62% Xarel.lo, 32% Macabeo, 15% Parellada
- Drink at: Lena, Variety Jones, Mr Fox
Our story starts in 1850 with great-great-grandfather Josep Batlle, a grower and winemaker in La Plana of the Anoia River valley. When phylloxera devastated Europe’s vineyards, his son Pau refined Xarel·lo-based wines for French sparkling houses who already knew Catalonia as their cork source. That expertise led Pau to found Celler Batlle in 1881 and purchase the very vineyards his father once tended. Today Gramona carries that legacy forward from the Alt Penedès, just 30 km south of Barcelona, where hot, dry Mediterranean summers and mild winters are tempered by the Montserrat massif to the north. This Extra Brut is wine twice over. Made by the traditional method, it undergoes a second fermentation in bottle and then rests for 24 months in the silence of Gramona’s cavas. The result is scintillating freshness, joy, and finesse that ages into elegance and complexity. The name *Aliances* honors the partners of *Aliances per la Terra*, a collective of Penedès winegrowing families that Gramona helped found in 2015. Together they practice continuous biodynamic training and craft their own preparations from animal, mineral, and plant elements, using preventive, ancestral methods to steward the land. As a Corpinnat, every grape is harvested by hand and the wine is produced entirely on the estate. The varieties fully reflect this rolling, 2,700-year-old terroir west of Barcelona, a land of crisp sparklers with real pedigree. Expect the kind of bright, terroir-driven tension that makes Cava a must for lovers of traditional-method bubbles, with the added depth that only time, altitude, and meticulous vineyard work can give. Crack it with oysters, jamón ibérico, fried seafood, or roast chicken with lemon and herbs, and taste five generations of Penedès in every pour.
Portal del Priorat, Gotes del Priorat, 2022
- Producer: Alfredo Arribas, Portal del Priorat
- Vintage: 2022
- Alcohol: 14%
- Drink: 14°C
- Price: €29
- Region: Priorat, Spain
- Grapes: Cariñena, Garnacha
- Drink at: Mamo, Patrick Guilbaud, Mr Fox, The Old Spot
From the steep llicorella slopes of Priorat, one of only two DOCa/DOQ regions in Spain, comes a red that redefines what this powerhouse appellation can be. The Gotes family of wines proves that freshness and elegance belong in Priorat just as much as power. Grown organically at 370 to 450m in high, ventilated sites around La Morera and Damunt Roca, these 20 to 40 year old Grenache, Carignan, and Syrah vines dig into slate and red chalky soils for that signature mineral tension Priorat is famous for. The 2022 Gotes del Priorat is Portal del Priorat’s most accessible, fruit-driven expression, yet it never lets go of its roots. Think dark cherry red with violet flashes, then a rush of blackberry, sweet cherry, plum, and raspberry lifted by dark chocolate, licorice, juniper, pepper, and rosemary. On the palate it’s lean and juicy with a stony, silky texture. The acidity and soft tannins are perfectly woven together, giving it real electricity and drinking flow. Vinified with a portion of whole stems in stainless steel for 20 days with light pigeage, then aged 12 months in foudres and used French oak of third fill or older, it’s a study in natural restraint: 14% alcohol, 5.5 g/L acidity, pH 3.3. This is Priorat’s classic balsamic and licorice identity delivered with freshness, cherry-bright Grenache and wild-berry Carignan playing off each vintage’s character. Pour it with grilled lamb, beef steaks, Catalan stews, or Mediterranean grilled vegetables and watch how effortlessly it bridges newcomers and die-hard Priorat lovers.
Cellar Pardas, Sus Scorfa, 2023
- Producer: Celler Pardas
- Vintage: 2023
- Alcohol: 12%
- Drink: 12°C
- Price: €20
- Region: Penedès, Spain
- Grapes: Sumoll
- Drink at: Uno Mas, Cafe Bodega (Galway), The Legal Eagle
*Sus Scrofa* means “wild boar” in Latin, and it’s more than a label. It’s the emblem and unofficial mascot of Celler Pardas, a tribute to the feisty boars that roam the hills of the Alt Penedès. This is a youthful, easy-drinking take on Sumoll, the region’s native red grape: vibrant, juicy, and as characterful and fun as the boar staring back from the bottle. Celler Pardas began when growers Ramon Parera and Jordi Arnan acquired Can Comas, an old estate near Sant Sadurní d’Anoia built around a medieval farm. The 30 hectares mix forest, cereal, and vineyards planted to local varieties Sumoll and Xarel·lo. They also work two ancient plots further north with old-vine Sumoll, Xarel·lo, and Malvasía de Sitges, a fascinating local strain Ramon calls the “Riesling of the Mediterranean” for its razor-sharp acidity and notoriously tricky vinification. From day one their approach has been holistic. They manage the surrounding forest and bordering land to build a complete agrarian ecosystem, and they live on the property. The vines are dry-farmed on clay-limestone soils that are never plowed, protecting against erosion and letting the site’s microbiology thrive. Ground cover is maintained, and no synthetic products or pesticides are used. The work is certified organic and follows many biodynamic principles. Ramon and Jordi sit at the forefront of Penedès’ native-variety revival. Where previous generations replaced Sumoll with high-yielding international grapes, they replanted from cuttings of old vines found across the region. In the cellar the same respect applies: spontaneous fermentations, no clarification or corrections, and a mix of steel, concrete, and oak for winemaking and élevage. Sumoll is famously difficult, “the most masochistic grape there is,” Jordi jokes, but Sus Scrofa proves they’ve tamed its rusticity into something delicate, fresh, and immediate. Think bright red fruit, herbal lift, earthy undertones, and that chalky, saline snap you get from rocky limestone soils. It’s expressive and direct, with the kind of drinkability that begs for a second glass. Open it slightly cool with charcuterie, grilled butifarra, roast chicken, mushroom rice dishes, or tapas. It’s Penedès heritage bottled with humour and purpose, showing exactly why the local grapes are worth the effort.
Entre Vinyes, Oniric Xarel-lo Vermell,2024
- Producer: Entre Vinyes
- Vintage: 2024
- Alcohol: 10.5%
- Drink: 10°C
- Price: €43
- Region: Penedés, Spain
- Grapes: Xarel·lo Vermell
- Drink at: Host, 51 Cornmarket (Cork), The Black Pig (Kinsale), Monk's Lane (Cork)
Brisat is the Catalan name for skin-contact white wine, where white grapes are treated like reds and left to ferment on their skins, seeds, and sometimes stems. The result is what most of us call orange wine: deeper color, more texture, and a savoury edge you won’t find in conventional whites. Entre Vinyes Oniric leans into that tradition with their Brisat Xarel·lo Vermell 2024, a female-led organic project from Maria Barrena of Bodega Azul y Garanza and her husband Josep, a third-generation Penedès grower. The fruit comes from the family’s 25 hectares in Baix Penedès, planted 60 years ago at 300 to 350 meters and tucked close to the Mediterranean beside the national park. Old-vine Xarel·lo, Macabeu, Parellada, and Chardonnay thrive there amid rich biodiversity, dry-farmed and surrounded by forest and native cover crops that keep the ecosystem in balance. Maria and Pep Tort Montserrat literally converted an old chicken coop and pigsty into the winery, honouring vines planted in 1935 that once fed the local cooperative. This 2024 Brisat is 100% Xarel·lo Vermell, the rare pink-skinned mutation of the classic Penedès variety. Extended skin maceration gives it a luminous amber glow and a distinctly textural mouthfeel. Expect herbal and botanical aromatics, ripe stone fruit, citrus peel, and a gentle savory, earthy frame with fine, grippy tannin. At just 10.5% ABV it stays bright, aromatic, and easy going, showing the lift and drinkability that Entre Vinyes is known for. Serve it slightly chilled as an aperitif, or with light salads, roast chicken, grilled fish, and Mediterranean vegetables. It’s natural Penedès with a sense of place: old vines, old buildings, new energy, and a clear respect for the wild edges of the vineyard.