Natural Winery Visit - Partida Creus
The emphatic natural wine producers, situated in Bonastre of Catalonia.
When the opportunity arose to go and visit the acclaimed natural wine producer Antonella Gerona at her and Massimo Marchiori’s Catalonian natural winery - Partida Creus, there was no chance I was letting that one slip away from me.
Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared. – George S. Clason.
Who Are Partida Creus?
To reiterate my point - Massimo and Antonella’s project, situated in the picturesque Catalonian hills of Bonastre, not 10km inland from the Balearic Sea, is one of the most acclaimed natural wineries in the world right now. The dynamic Italian couple has been producing real wine in limited quantities from organic, native grape varieties for over 20 years!
Partida Creus is a winery run by two incredibly passionate, enthusiastic Italians (Massimo and Antonella) who come from architectural and design backgrounds. They stumbled across their fertile parcel of land back in 2001 whilst on a search for “good soil” in the rural parts of Catalonia.
Why were they searching for good soil?
Well, the Italian food options available at the time in Barcelona (where they lived) were way below par when it came to Massimo and Antonella’s gastronomic standards. When I spoke about this to Antonella, she certainly did not struggle to give me the notion that such an act should be considered a crime - I agree.
So from that moment, over 20 years ago, the eager couple were on a hunt to find land with healthy soil where they could reliably grow their crops. A trait in soil that was rapidly falling out of fashion, and very hard to find thanks to the industrialised era the world had inevitably moved toward.
After just a short while into their humble search, Massimo came across a unique parcel of land on the sloping hills of Bonastre, which sits in between the Catalonian counties of Baix Penedes and Tarragona.
In 2001, indigenous grapes were considered incredibly taboo, unreliable and illegal in terms of local, conventional wine laws. Which telling of his character, made Massimo want to buy that parcel of land in Bonastre even more so when he discovered the indigenous Bobal grape varietals growing amongst this parcel of land.
The plan changed, Antonella and Massimo were now to devote their lives to reviving this indigenous Catalonian grape variety and becoming natural winemakers.
And that is how Partida Creus was born.
The Journey to Partida Creus
The day started In Tarragona, where I was staying, by having lunch at the local hole-in-the-wall ‘Bar Cortijo’ - a well-known eatery that opens between 11 am-4 pm and serves local, homemade tapas alongside thirst-quenching, predominantly local natural wines. I was buzzing for the clock to strike 5 pm so I could take my travels up to the hills of Bonastre, and finally meet Antonella at her winery.
The weather was warm as hell! Sat at around thirty degrees celsius, and I was even darker than my normal complexion thanks to the previous day of sunbathing and enjoying a local rosé on the beach.
It took 30 minutes by taxi, costing €50.00, from Tarragona train station up to the front gates of Partida Creus. I later discovered that the journey was doable via train for just €2.50 and a €10.00 taxi from Torredembarra station, a fraction of the initial taxi fare, but we live and learn! When I arrived at the front gates and saw the iconic Partida Creus logo on a well-kept sign post outside, an incredible sense of closure rushed through my body. It felt like I was once again, where I was supposed to be, the same feeling I get every time I go and visit a natural winery where I soak myself in.
So I rang the buzzer for the electric gates to open, and straight away Antonella was on the other end of the line,
“Ehi Eoghan!! Come right in.”
as the gates slowly opened.
As you walk up the driveway of Partida Creus towards the cellar door, take note of just how elegant and picturesque their front patio is. They have a rustic metal canopy, entirely sheltered by a growing Moscatel vine that's leaves and grapes have sprawled the whole way across. There were tables and benches sat below that looked like they hosted many family-like meals fuelled by wine. The horizon view facing the sloping hills opposite the winery is so beautiful that you could only dream of a life gazing upon them!
Antonella stepped out the cellar door and warmly welcomed me with a big hug into what felt like the Partida Creus family.
She brought me into the cellar door behind the canopy, poured me a (much-needed) ice-cold glass of water, and asked
“would you like to start with our 2021 vintage Vino Blanco?”
The two of us sat at the cool bar, right next to dozens of swapped or gifted bottles of natural wine from winemaker visits over the years. I felt grateful for the fact that Antonella and I got to know each other over just a couple of glasses of their crisp yet floral scented ‘21 white cuvee, an honour if I’m honest.
Interestingly enough, Antonella also informed me that the Moscatel single vine that covers their canopy outside on the patio is treated as a reference point throughout the year. I found this fascinating - if they spot any diseases or mishaps on their Moscatel canopy, it means the likeliness of disease spreading in the vineyard is guaranteed. If the vine grows healthy and without flaws for the year, they know their vineyard’s vines should also be in the same state, a perfect example of how these people aren’t just natural wine producers. They are guardians of the soil who have an empathy-fuelled relationship with the earth on almost every level. I love that about natural winemakers!
This led me to my questions for Antonella on “why” they chose the natural wine life;
Her response enabled an in-depth conversation about what it means to be a natural winemaker, mainly revolving around the well-known concept of replenishing the earth’s soil and intervening as little as possible throughout the entire process. Antonella’s burning passion for producing pure wine referring to it as simply “doing honest work”, is just so refreshing yet incredibly contagious.
A Tour of Tasting Natural Wine
We decided to finish our chit-chat and go downstairs into the cellar where all of their wines from 2021 and previous vintages undergo their ageing period. The space below is divided into two separate rooms both are sat at a naturally perfect temperature for wines to age.
The first room is where all of Partida Creus’ stainless steel winemakers live; massive 10ft steel vats as far as the eye can see and huge slabs of wine ageing in unlabelled glass bottles placed right in the centre of the room.
Straight away Antonella excitedly poured me a small glass of the pale yellow coloured ‘SK 21’ from one of the easier to get to tanks. A super clean tasting white wine made from Baix Penedes native Moscatel grapes. From such a small glass, I instantly got the aromas of ripe tangerine skins followed by a floral, crisp finish on the taste, and we were off to a great start.
I marvelled at just how magnificent this great room of lively wines was for a few minutes Antonella then opened up the next set of doors leading into their second ageing room, this one full of ageing, old oak barrels and sparkling wines -a sight fit enough to bring any composed adult to their knees with joy.
As soon as the doors opened up, to the left-hand side was a half-wrapped slab of boxed wines with a sticker on the front that said “Bobal + Mira Parcel. CLOVIS ” I assured myself that if there were a slight chance of bumping into Ochin Clovis on my brief visit, I would snatch it.
Antonella and I walked down what I could only describe as an underground, dimly-lit alley of neutral oak barrels stacked up in four rows. It genuinely felt like I was in heaven at this point.
Partida Creus boasts six or seven different red and white wines that age in this second room. Easily. As well as four different-coloured Ancestral/Pét-Nats too. We tasted at least four or five wines along the way;
‘TP+BB 21’ - Trepat + Bobal 2021 vintage.
‘TP 21’ - Trepat 2021 vintage.
‘SAMSO’ 2021 vintage.
‘BB’ - Bobal 2021 vintage.
‘GT’ - Garrut 2021 vintage.
The 2021 ‘Garrut’ stood out to me the most amongst these beautiful red wines we tasted. Garrut is a Spanish native grape variety that was very popular in the early 18th century, pre-Phylloxera times, 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 are described as complete write-offs, 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.
Once the tour and tasting session concluded, the two of us went back upstairs and onto the patio in the sunshine for a final drink. Under the canopy, we got stuck into some vermouth - a fortified wine that’s textured, made from a blend of citrus, alpine spices, and red and white grapes produced by Antonella and Massimo under the label ‘MUZ’ in a see-through one-litre bottle.
Meeting Ochin Clovis
As we spoke and drank glasses of the ‘MUZ’, Antonella’s phone rang, to which she walked nearby the cellar door to answer. I didn’t want to come across as too dependent on her attention to keep me satisfied. After all, I travelled here alone to improve my independence skills, so I lit a cigarette and soaked up the compelling scenes around me whilst Antonella finished her phone call. She sat down and with annoyance on her face, told me that Clovis would be arriving in half an hour to finish bottling the remainder of his aged.
And that is when the opportunist in me took over and asked Antonella if I could hang around a little longer with the hope of crossing paths with Clovis.
“oh you are a fan of Clovis??” said Antonella. “Of course, you can stick around, no problem at all.”.
This was a BIG moment for me.
If you don’t know by now, Ochin Clovis, alongside Action Bronson and the core principles of the natural wine movement are the key components that got me hooked on the natural wine lifestyle. I find Clovis’ passion and enthusiasm for being a part of the natural wine movement infectious. Seriously, this guy is undoubtedly one of the idols I aspire to be like in my career.
Arriving nearly a half an hour later, fashionably late, or maybe on French time like the Parisian he is, Clovis briskly whips his car up the driveway, bursting out of the car shouting,
“I hear I have a fan here Madame Antonella!? Let me meet him!”
We shook hands, I poured him a glass of the ‘MUZ’, and he took out the materials for a spliff. I was on cloud fucking 9 with excitement, but I covered that up by asking how his latest album had done since releasing six weeks prior and asked why natural wine is his life for him.
He told me that his latest release of music would not be properly appreciated for what it’s worth, for another two or three years. This is down to some nuances like his rogue subject matter, the eclectic beats he uses and of course, getting his name a little bit more known in the music industry.
Clovis then explained his philosophy on natural wine quite simply. The point of being a part of this movement is to help restore our planet’s soil to a functional manner, which it is currently not in. If you are not in a position to help our soil directly, as a regular person, who works a 9-5 job, you should drink more natural wine and support the producers who can help restore those soils. “It’s simple. Really brother, it’s so simple”
And that drew the curtains on my outlandish day of visiting Partida Creus.
I gave Clovis and Antonella both a hug, got a lift down to the train station, marvelled at the pictures I took throughout my excursion and just smiled with satisfaction back to Tarragona.
This trip was so gratifying. You know when you dream of achievements and occasions that you would like to go on and experience in life. And then you fulfil those dreams in later years? That is how I felt throughout that day; surreal but incredibly gratifying all at once.
As cliche as this may read that is why I would always encourage you to have a clear vision of where you want to go in life and what you want to do. Like what Clovis said “It’s (so) simple” put all of your energy into making those visions come to life, it may take 30 days, 100 days or even 500 days, but I am telling you right now, you will see the results you envisioned.
(All images of this winery visit are available to view on the www.naturalswill.com website in the gallery section!)