Garrut - The Ancient Catalonian Grape Variety
It’s called ‘Garrut’ and is a wildcard grape variety I discovered for the first time in Partida Creus’ underground wine cellar during a tasting with Antonella Gerona. Garrut is a grape that has a thick skin and yearns for hot and dry climate conditions. Garrut is also known as the Catalonian version of the Spanish Monastrell and French Mourvédre respective grape varieties.
Probably the maddest red wine I ever had - it was a fascinating experience of prominent tastes and mind-boggling flavours. An experience that I would compare to the first time I experienced bitter, black coffee in the morning - exhilarating!
The glasses of Garrut Antonella and I drank that warm afternoon in Bonastre, which was a 2021 vintage and straight out of the barrel, served up a fleshy appearance and incredibly vegetal aroma - textbook stuff from such a thick-skinned, black berried variety. It left me with a withdrawal symptom I’ve never experienced with a grape variety before. Although in saying that, when I first graced my lips around a fragrant glass of Pinot Gris from the Durrmann family based in Alsace, that was a moment that could compare to this shared experience with Antonella and this loud glass of Garrut!
Garrut is a Catalonian native grape variety that was supposedly very popular in the early 18th century, pre-Phylloxera times, before mysteriously disappearing for over 100 years. Remarkably undamaged by Phylloxera, the disease that killed off over 40% of European native grape varietals, Garrut began to show up again across Catalonia in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Antonella explained to me that this grape is a complete wildcard in every vintage no matter what and because it’s so old, there are no recorded documents or people alive that know how to manage ‘Garrut’ grapes. At Partida, they allow it to grow wild in their vineyard when it comes to harvesting the ancient grapes - there is no telling what they will get after the fermentation. Some years were described by Antonella as a complete failure, in other years, the grapes have mysteriously not grown at all on the vines, but luckily, the 2021 vintage, which I got to try with Antonella, was coming along perfectly. I could only describe this peculiar red wine as violet red in the glass, quite herbaceous and prickly on the nose, and one of the most thought-provoking flavour profiles I have ever experienced with natural wine. It was silky smooth yet sharp, followed by noticeably delicate tannins coating your mouth for a short while.
“The (Garrut) variety was already mentioned in 1381 in Empordà (Catalonia) by the monk Francisc Eiximenis (1340-1409) with the Bobal as the most important varieties in Valencia.”
The ‘Garrut’, which is to be considered a marvel of a grape variety, has persevered itself through all these decades, only adding to its complexity and character along the way and can still be worked with in today’s world to a functional degree is mindblowing. Not only does it taste good, but when produced by exceptional winemakers like Antonella and Massimo of Partida Creus winery, it feels gratifying to be a part of the revival of such an impressive, ancient grape variety.
Partida Creus are one of the only wineries in Catalonia still working towards reviving this ancient grape variety. They use Garrut across multiple red wine blends and also produce a 100% Garrut which can be found served by the glass or bottle over at Vin de Bodega’s wine truck in Manchester.