Wine of the week
Alan Nance, self-confessed Xarel·lista, is seduced by another Catalan white variety.
Pardas Blau Cru 2021
DO Penedès
Variety: 100% Malvasía de Sitges
ABV: 13%
€17.90 from Decántalo
The story of how the grape variety known in my neck of the woods as Malvasía de Sitges came to be cultivated in and around the Catalan coastal town from which it takes its name is a fascinating one that is far too convoluted to recount here. It is worth exploring, however, so if you're in the area I strongly recommend you call by the visitor centre (Centre d'Interpretació de la Malvasía) that forms part of the Celler Hospital de Sitges, where they also offer guided tours (including in English) that allow access to a secret garden, a 0.7 hectare urban vineyard planted, obviously, with Malvasía de Sitges.
The urban vineyard as it was back in March this year. Photo courtesy of fellow Catalan wine lover, Mary J Bowles
When I began putting down roots in Catalonia around 25 years ago, almost everyone, and especially those of older generations, associated Malvasía de Sitges with the production of dessert wines. Historically this had been its forte as it reliably reaches a high sugar content, whereas its low yields and proneness to rot meant it wasn't seen as a prime candidate for making still wines. But all that has begun to change in recent decades, and many of Catalonia's finest vignerons now have a wine made from Malvasía de Sitges in their portfolio. Among these is one of my go-to wineries, Pardas.
As Ramón Parera and Jordi Arnán, the Pardas duo, explain on their website, their experiments with the variety began back in 2007, and for a number of years they simply blended it with Xarel·lo in their entry-level white wine. Seven years later, they set it free and produced the first vintage of their varietal Malvasía de Sitges, the Blau Cru.
The 2021 that I'm drinking now is pale gold in colour and wonderfully aromatic on the nose, with hints of citrus (grapefruit, lemon), passion fruit and, in juxtaposition, a whiff of smoke and petrol. On the palate, however, it's the acidity that really sings, the ripe fruit now making way for a steely, saline hit that makes your mouth water.
Xarel·lo has always been the flagship white variety of Pardas, and one with which they make some brilliant wines that evolve into something spectacular with time in bottle (I'll never forget the 2014 Pur Xarel·lo I uncorked last Christmas). Yet on the basis of the Blau Cru 2021, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they end up reaching the same heights with their Malvasía de Sitges. One to keep an eye on, for sure.