Partida Creus

Partida Creus is one of the handful of wineries to pioneer natural winegrowing in Catalonia, specifically in the Penedés region. Born and raised in Lombardia, Antonella Gerosa & Massimo Marchiori were initially studying architecture, design, and marketing. They left their native country in 1994-95 and first came to Barcelona for work. Tired of the “big city rat race” and wanting to live more in harmony with the land, the couple settled in rural Bonastre in 2001, about an hour’s drive south in the Baix Penedès. As they adapted to their new home, they discovered old, abandoned vineyards of native grape varieties such as Cartoixa, Sumoll, and Vinyater. The couple began to purchase and recuperate parcels around Bonastre in order to form their project Bodega Partida Creus, focused on “capturing authenticity” and maintaining “purity of the land while respecting local traditions and not interfering in the grape’s natural growth.” To this end, they use no chemicals anywhere in the winemaking process. They have recently reduced overall production slightly in order to further improve the quality of their estate-grown table wines, and their MUZ vermouth is already one of a kind in the world of natural wine. In their words: “Partida Creus is not just a winery; it's a way of understanding wine as a link between nature and those who enjoy it.”

The Wines
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XL Ancestral 100% Xarel-lo from organically farmed vines planted around 1993-95 on clay, limestone & gypsum soils at 260m elevation. The grapes were hand-harvested, destemmed and skin macerated for 2 days in stainless steel tanks, then gently pressed and fermentation continued in tank until the wine was at 1002 gravity, then bottled under crown cap for a naturally carbonated pet-nat style. The finished wine aged in bottle an additional year before release. 

BN Blanco Natural Macabeu and Parellada, with Vinyater and Garnatxa Blanca from 30-50 year-old vines. The grapes were destemmed, crushed and skin macerated for 2-3 days before pressing to tank, where it was raised on fine lees and bottled the following spring. 

VN Vinel-lo Blanco Garnatxa Blanca, Macabeu, Xarel-lo, Moscatel d’Alexandria, Vinyater, Pansé, andParellada (30-70 year old vines) all harvested just before full ripeness, foot-trodden in whole bunches with 1-2 days maceration before pressing to tank, where the wine fermented and rested on fine lees until bottling the following June. 

MC Macabeo This parcel of Macabeu is over 50-years-old and planted on clay & limestone soils at 230m elevation in Bonastre. The grapes were destemmed, crushed and skin macerated for 3 days before pressing to stainless steel tank, where it was raised on fine lees and bottled the following spring.

SP Subirat Parent This parcel of Subirat Parent (aka Malvasía Fenicia) was planted around 1982 on clay, limestone and gypsum soils at 170m elevation just northeast of Bonastre. The grapes were destemmed, crushed and skin macerated for 3 days before pressing to stainless steel tank to complete primary fermentation. The wine was then racked into 300L French oak barrels with enough headspace to form a veil of flor for one year of aging before bottling.

CL Clarete A blend of ⅔ Garnatxa Blanca and ⅓ Garnatxa Negra from 25-35 year-old certified organic vines in Terra Alta. All grapes were destemmed, the white macerated on skins for 2 days and the red grapes for 4 days before gently pressing to one 10,000L tank to co-ferment over the winter, bottled in June. 

TN Tinto Natural Ull de Llebre, Merlot and Syrah from 30-50 year-old vines, destemmed and macerated 6-9 days before pressing to stainless steel tank. After fermentation, the wine was raised in tank on fine lees and bottled the following spring. 

VN Vinel-lo Tinto Garnatxa Negra, Sumoll, Garrut, Trepat and Cariñena from a 35-year-old vineyard, all harvested separately just before full ripeness, foot-trodden in whole bunches with 2-3 days maceration before pressing to tank. After fermentation, the wine was raised on fine lees and bottled the following July. 

GN Garnatxa Negra Garnatxa Negra from an abandoned clone formerly cultivated along the seashore since it prefers sandy soils, they planted this parcel in 2014 within a protected nature preserve on sandy limestone soils at 198-207m elevation. The grapes were hand-harvested, destemmed, crushed and macerated 5 days before gently pressing to stainless steel tank. After primary fermentation, the wine was racked to 300L chestnut barrels to complete malolactic fermentation and age on fine lees for one year before bottling. 

TP Trepat This Trepat parcel comes from a clone of the ancestral Conca de Barberà variety that also once grew in Baix Penedès as well. They planted these vines in Bonastre in 2016 close to the winery, on clay & limestone soils at 260m elevation. The grapes were hand-harvested, destemmed and macerated 7 days in stainless steel tank before gently pressing to 54L damajuanas (glass demijohns) to ferment and age for one year. The wine was then racked to 300L French oak barrels for an additional year of aging before bottling. 

SO Samsó Samsó (aka Cariñena) from an organically farmed parcel of 35-40-year-old parcel on clay, limestone and gypsum soils at 180m elevation located just northeast of Bonastre. The grapes were hand-harvested, destemmed, crushed and macerated 8 days before gently pressing to stainless steel tank. After primary fermentation, the wine was racked to 300L French oak barrels to complete malolactic fermentation and age on fine lees for one year before bottling. 

MUZ Vermouth A portion of the base wine (joven, crianza red + oxidized white) was distilled and macerated with 51 botanicals, and this herbal liquor is added to the still wine along with a small amount of sugar to balance the bitterness. The vermouth was then aged in used 300L oak barrels for 6 months before bottling.

Location

General Info

  • Founded: 2001
  • Region: Penedes
  • Town: Bonastre
  • Climate: Mediterranean
  • Soils: Clay Calcareous
  • Farming: Organic
  • Grower: ​Antonella Gerosa & Massimo Marchiori

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