Oriol Artigas, Allela 'La Rumbera' 2021

Oriol Artigas taught oenology and worked at several Catalan vineyards before starting his own project. His aim was to breathe new life into the coastal vineyards of Alella, one of the smallest DOs in Spain, producing natural wines with a strong influence from the Mediterranean sea and mountains. Fermentation is done by wild yeasts, and sulphur is added only at bottling. He oversees 12 hectares of mostly old vines, and works the vineyard according to the lunar calendar. He produces a vast range of wines, in good years – in 2020 he lost 90% of his crops so could only produce one cuvée, ‘cuvée total’, essentially a combination of three of his other wines. What a trooper!