Wine of the Week
Anima Mundi Gres 2022
Costers d'Ordal, Penedès (but outside the DO)
100% Xarel·lo
ABV 12%
Price: €11.90 in Bodeboca
Much to my shame it took me six months to realise that a new – and very good – wine bar and eatery had opened just a stone's throw from home. In my defence, places that use the term gastrobar to describe themselves are often a triumph of style over substance, but this is not the case of Marboa, in Sant Pere de Ribes. On the night I realised the error of my ways, I lingered over the extensive wine list (100+ bottles) with its selection of classic and new wave wines from Spain and further afield, before finally settling on a bottle of O Gran Meín Castes Brancas 2019, an excellent Ribeiro white made by Laura Montero. Now, a couple of weeks later, I'm sitting at the bar and asking Rubén, the young and enthusiastic wine-loving owner to recommend me a wine of the week. "Something local", I say, "and one that offers good value for money".
The wine he chose, the Anima Mundi Gres 2022, was new to me and does indeed offer bang for buck. The winemaker behind it, Agustí Torelló Roca, is the son of Agustí Torelló Sibill, who founded the AT Roca winery around ten years ago after cutting ties with the long-established Torelló family business. AT Roca has since built a strong following for its Catalan sparklers produced under the Clàssic Penedès designation, and they also make a couple of still whites (all are high quality and worth uncorking). Anima Mundi is a side project of the larger AT Roca operation and currently produces three still whites and two ancestral sparklers (aka pét-nats). Organic and biodynamic viticulture is practised across both projects.
The Gres 2022 is 100% Xarel·lo from bush vines planted in 1956 and 1974 near to the hamlet of Sant Sebastià dels Gorgs, in the heart of the Penedès. Its name, Gres, is the Catalan word for sandstone, and is a nod to the presence of this sedimentary rock in the mainly calcareous vineyard soils. After hand harvesting, the grapes are fermented with native yeasts in three parts: a third in 500L used French oak barrels, a third in clay amphorae (both these parts are whole cluster pressed) and a third on the skins (for 14 days) in stainless steel. After six months on the lees in each recipient the three parts are blended and bottled, with no added sulfur, fining or filtering. The result is a zesty wine with just the faintest hint of cloudiness and a slight prickle, although this soon dissipates and gives way to a softer and surprisingly full mouthfeel. The lemon, green apple and wild herb notes that you'd expect from Xarel·lo are there, but are layered against a stony backdrop, making for a long sapid finish that keeps you coming back for more. My Catalan drinking partner described it, in English, as "crispy", which seems about right. It certainly made a fine companion to the ewe's milk cheeses (one aged, the other young and creamy) we were eating at the time, and it's easy to imagine this wine alongside a plate of clams or some grilled sardines (just two of my favourite things).
Overall, this entry-level offering from Anima Mundi offers a lot for just €12, although its purity of expression (for me a strength) may not appeal to those less enamoured of minimal intervention (aka natural) white wines. Whatever your taste preferences, it's worth bearing in mind that wines made from Xarel·lo are generally ageworthy, and I for one will be buying another bottle of the Gres 2022 to store for at least a year or two, at which point – time will tell – those €12 may come to seem like even more of a bargain.