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Aixala i Alcait

Priorat

Location Torroja
Grapes Carignan, Garnacha, Macabeo, Garnacha Blanca
Viticulture Certified Organic
Producer Jordi and Sussi Aixala i Jansana
Website http://pardelasses.blogspot.com
Location Torroja
Grapes Carignan, Garnacha, Macabeo, Garnacha Blanca
Viticulture Certified Organic
Producer Jordi and Sussi Aixala i Jansana
Website http://pardelasses.blogspot.com

We discovered this gem of an estate in 2022 on a trip to Monsant. A tip off from a close friend was enough to make us abandon our Monsant quest and seek out this very highly thought of cellar we had never heard of in a village we know well.

Jordi and Sussi live in a quiet back street of Torroja (although all the streets here are quiet!), a pretty, tightly wound hilltop village in the northern quarter of Priorat. Jordi bought his vineyards in Pardelasses and Clivelles, two cru of the village, after his father died, and produced his first wine in 2005, with just 300 bottles. It took until 2009 and a rough ride through the global economic crash to start producing single terroir wines, starting with Pardelasses in 2009.

The cellar is located in Sussi’s Mother’s house, and they live next door. The Acacia, Oak and Chestnut demi muid are spaced out on one level, and the winery and pressing on another. Space is tight but just about fits the production of the handful of hectares they work by hand, tractor and donkey. Pardelasses is a Carinena, Garnacha, Sumol and Garnacha Blanca planted on licorella soil with narrow plantings on a steep ‘coster’. Clivelles has Macabeu, Garnacha, and Carinena. It has more Saulo soil, sandy mica rich soil over lay with carboniferous slate below. Each parcel produces a wine of distinct character, with Pardelasses being more woven, herbal and generous, whilst Clivelles being more restrained, elegant and refined. Be under no illusion though, these are not wines with heavy oak and aspiration, they are refined, light-footed and driven by acidity. They caught our hearts on first tasting and it is a joy to be able to introduce them to the UK.

Aixala i Alcait Wines

Clivelles Blanco 50% Garnacha Blanca, 50% Macabeu grown on quartzite granitic soils over licorella. Pressed in a basket press prior to fermentation in Acacia barrels of 600 litres for one year, on fine lees.
Pardelasses Blanco Garnacha Blanca grown on a mixture of saulo soils and sand over licorella on a narrow terraced slope at 450 metres. Pressed whole bunch in a basket press prior to fermentation in a mixture of French oak and chestnut 600 litre demi muid. Aged for one year on fine lees.
Clivelles de Torroja Tinto 100% Carinena planted in 1985 grown on quartzite granitic soils over licorella. Destemmed whole berries are fermented in stainless steel prior to transfer to French oak and chestnut barrels for 10 months.
Clivelles Blanco 50% Garnacha Blanca, 50% Macabeu grown on quartzite granitic soils over licorella. Pressed in a basket press prior to fermentation in Acacia barrels of 600 litres for one year, on fine lees.
Pardelasses Blanco Garnacha Blanca grown on a mixture of saulo soils and sand over licorella on a narrow terraced slope at 450 metres. Pressed whole bunch in a basket press prior to fermentation in a mixture of French oak and chestnut 600 litre demi muid. Aged for one year on fine lees.
Clivelles de Torroja Tinto 100% Carinena planted in 1985 grown on quartzite granitic soils over licorella. Destemmed whole berries are fermented in stainless steel prior to transfer to French oak and chestnut barrels for 10 months.
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