Oriol Pérez de Tudela studied Philosophy in Barcelona but wine was always part of his life. Born in Valls (Tarragona), he grew up nearby, in Aiguamurcia, where he has fond memories of the time spent in the vineyards with his cousins. His uncle looked after the wines of the local cooperative, one of the many imposing wineries built by the prolific architect César Martinell in southern Catalonia in the first quarter of the 20th century.
The first wine-related project that Pérez de Tudela set up started in 2006 as a response to the dramatically low grape prices and the drop in daily wine consumption. He started selecting quality grapes to craft a good, everyday wine with some tipicity. Called El Vi a Punt, it was sold in bag-in-box under the motto “Perquè el vi torni a la nostra taula de cada dia” (let’s bring back wine to our tables on an everyday basis). At present, production stands at 150,000 litres. The range includes a Garnacha Blanca from Terra Alta, a Cariñena blend from Montsant and a rosé from Tarragona made with Tempranillo which may eventually change to Xarel.lo Vermell.
In contrast, Vinyes del Tiet Pere (Uncle Peter’s Vines) conveys the excitement of making wine from an old vineyard owned by his wife’s family in Vilabella (Tarragona), in the Alt Camp subarea, using grapes that had always been sold to the cooperative. Expectations weren’t high, but Oriol and his wife were surprised by the fresh character of the soil even though acidity was low. A drastic change to short pruning pushed yields down to 2,000 kg/Ha. 2009 was the first vintage. The name is a tribute to the great-uncle of Oriol’s wife, a real character who refused to move with the times and never drove a tractor.
Now they grow three hectares of Macabeo (a variety also known as Viura in other regions), and five of Xarel.lo Vermell. The range of wines includes three whites made with Macabeo and a Xarel.lo Vermell rosé which is labelled as Cartoixà Vermell, the local synonym for this grape variety. Vines are planted on clay-limestone soils rich in fossils as well as on a few slopes with stony soils that result in grapes with higher alcohol. These are destined to the white Padrós and will play an increasingly important role in the rosé from the 2018 vintage.
The wines have very little availability. Only 2,000 bottles (€12 in Spain) of Camí de la Font, the first wine in the project, are produced. Grapes are sourced from a vineyard planted in 1949 and are fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks with their lees and very little stirring. The wine has a salty character as well as notes of dry stones. El Padrós (1,500 bottles, €12) is more fruit-driven and structured, with less minerality but delightfully juicy. The trilogy ends with the balanced, relatively restrained skin-contact white Camí de la Font Brisat (only 800 bottles, €24).
Escabeces is a joint project with Sara Pérez and René Barbier Jr. (Venus La Universal), who had previous experience making rosés with their Dido rosé in Montsant. The uprooting of old Xarel.lo Vermell vines in Vilabella encouraged the trio to explore the possibilities of the variety to produce an interesting rosé. They worked hard to reduce yields to 3,000 kg from 9,000 kg/Ha in 2014. Concentration was needed to withstand the tannins resulting from skin-contact fermentation, which, in turn, was the only possible way to have colour. The wine (€12, 3,000 bottles and growing) is truly original. Light and delicate, it develops lovely floral notes with time.
