Leonard (Leo) and Roc Gramona, sons of Xavier and Jaume Gramona respectively, are cousins and the sixth generation of a saga of wine and sparkling wine producers in Penedès.
Whereas Leo studied engineering and worked as a corporate advisor, Roc followed in his father’s footsteps to take part in harvests across the globe in South Africa, Australia, California or Montilla in Spain. Over time, he has become a pruning expert and he is now in charge of the Catalan School of Pruning. When Leo’s and Roc’s parents suggested they joined the family business before reaching their 30s, the cousins agreed with one condition: they wanted to produce their own wines. Their parents said yes, but not at Gramona. Thus L’Enclòs de Peralba was born.
Roc and Leo work with indigenous varieties from Penedès sourced either from family vineyards or other plots they find particularly interesting in the region. If grapes are bought from local growers, their names are stated on the label. To a certain extent, Roc and Leo want to bring back the Penedès that preceded the emergence of sparkling wines. Their first 2017 and 2018 vintages were produced at Gramona, but now they have a winery of their own.
The terroir-driven approach starts with the name of the project. Enclos means clos in Catalan and Peralba refers to the white rocks found on elevated areas in Sant Sadurní, whose vineyards were the seed of the project. Their range provides a valuable contribution to the resurgence of indigenous varieties destined to high-quality wines in Penedès. It includes a fresh, seamless pét-nat made from Malvasía de Sitges and two red wines, but their focus is on whites. The aim is to reach 20,000 to 30,000 bottles in the future.
There are two entry-level wines called Vi Fi de Masia in addition to the pét-nat. A pristine, bright white blending equal amounts of Malvasía de Sitges and Garnacha Blanca with aniseed aromas (2,500 bottles were produced but the aim is to double this figure soon) and a red blend of Garnacha and Syrah (Cariñena will take the place of Syrah in the following vintage). Both retail at around €15 in Spain.
The rest are single-vineyard wines, their grapes sourced from different areas of Penedès. El Tòfol (2,500 bottles) comes from an old, family-owned plot that used to be destined to the flagship sparkling wine III Lustros. Planted with Macabeo on clay-limestone soils, it faces north.
Plà de Manlleu, a distinctively elevated area in Penedès that lies within the province of Tarragona, is the source of two Garnacha Blanca wines: Tres Feixes comes from a plot planted in 1939; half of the wine ages in concrete tanks, the other half in 500-litre barrels. It is a balanced wine with white fruit aromas that will develop nicely in bottle. Despite coming from a younger plot, Les Camades is round and rich, in line with the profile of Garnacha Blanca. In this case red clay is dominant on the soils. Made exactly in the same way, the wine is fuller on the palate and displays complex, petrol notes on the nose. Els Presseguers (the peach trees) features Xarel.lo grown at 450 elevation in Ordal, an area facing the Montserrat mountain. This is a fresh, serious, aromatic white showing great potential. Single-vineyard whites cost around €18-19 in Spain.
There is just one single-vineyard red so far. Els Escorpins (€22) is a fresh, floral Garnacha. Grapes are sourced from a gravelly, clay-limestone plot planted by Leo and Roc’s grandfather and owned by Gramona. The wine is aged for 12 months in 300-litre barrels.
Wild fermentations are the norm at L’Enclòs de Peralba. They use natural yeast starters for whites, while reds are fermented in open barrels with varying amounts of stems to gain freshness.
L'Enclòs de Peralba is a dynamic project in progress. While blends for entry-level wines are not fixed and may vary, Leo and Roc Gramona are still exploring and looking for suitable vineyards in Penedès. In fact, a single-vineyard Xarel.lo is already in the pipeline and they are also trying to find a plot planted with a clone of Sumoll with small berries to expand their range of red wines.
