vinestar - can rossell de la serra, alt penedès, Catalunya
Young winemakers Ariadna and Ricard (Riki) are farming just under 5 ha in Can Rossell de la Serra, a protected little corner of the Bitlles river valley in northern Penedès. A mosaic of small plots on a combination of clay-limestone with pebbles, all north facing, these parcels are protected by harsh cold winds from the north by the Montserrat rock formation and in the peak of summer they’re cooled by the sea breeze rolling in from the Mediterranean which sits just 20km south. Each vineyard is bordered either by forest or olive groves and for Ari and Riki biodiversity is key in bringing purity and balance to their wines. They integrate cover crops between the vines and treat with herbal infusions.
Sommellier Ariadna and contract winemaker Riki together have many years of experience working in the region for prestigious sparkling wine houses and it’s in this experience that they’ve formed their own philosophy. For them producing solely ancestral method wines is less of a stylistic choice and more formed by the terroirs that they farm as well as the heritage of their home region. Sensitive and considered farming in this region naturally brings a freshness, salinity and mineral profile that lends itself perfectly to sparkling wines with incredible ageing potential. Their wines are always ancestral method as they believe this is the natural continuaton of careful and organic farming.
Though Ari and Riki’s project is still young (they began in 2022), we’ve already been able to see the potential ageing trajectory of their wines and can’t wait to see what lies ahead for them.
