Oriol Artigas "Sammay" Blanc

Grapes: Xarel-lo + Parellada + Macabeu

Region: Catalunya, Spain

Vintage: 2021

Viticulture: Biodynamic

Soils: Granite

Vinification: Destemmed, then macerated for 5 days

Aging: 6 months in tank

Fining or Filtering: None

Sulfur: None added

Notes from the Importer: Oriol began making wine casually, simply to be enjoyed amongst friends. But slowly he started to realize his calling, devoting himself to a career in winemaking full time in 2011. Oriol loved how it allowed him to showcase his homeland and roots, and how it allowed him to meet new people and discover the world. Since the official start of the project, Oriol has continued to grow each year, evolving and finding new ways to showcase the unique Alella terruño. 

His over-arching philosophy is to “cultivate the vineyards in the most natural and least interventionist way possible, to allow the grapes to express in the most intense way the landscape from which they come.” He works about 12 hectares in total, mostly of old vines. He allows vegetation to grow between the vines, prunes very little, and works the vineyards primarily along the lunar calendar. In the winery, fermentations are completely spontaneous, aging is primarily done in steel vats, and sulfur is never used at any point in his process.  

Oriol makes a wide variety of wines (sparkling, white, rosé, and red) the color of the wine being defined by which grapes grow in the vineyard. Ever restless, he is regularly adding to his repertoire of vineyards and wines, relying on the wisdom of the folks who originally planted these wild vineyards to make his cuvées. Each wine that Oriol produces has a beautiful refreshing texture with a subtle intensity of flavors - convivial Mediterranean wines with heart and soul.