Lots of tannins and acid. Extremely flavorful with balanced fruit and minerality on the finish — a month ago
Sat afternoon at home. Aromatic, tropical fruit nose. Very fresh on the palate, with satisfying tartness that accentuates how fresh it is. Slight salinity that gives it additional complexity.
The CX of Partida Creus is a real bombshell of freshness, a nose that plays on notes of white fruits, citrus, and aromatic herbs. Tart and funky on the palate, with a long finish. A super rare and super good wine.
Partida Creus is the project of two Italians now in residence in the Tarragona region of Catalonia, just south of Barcelona. The idea of the project was to work with historical, often overlooked local varietals that in many cases were not recognised by the D.O. of the area: Penedès. Massimo and Antonella strategically went about buying up small plots of abandoned vineyards dotted around the area where mostly unknown varietals such as Garrut, Vinyater, Samsó and Queixal de Llop grew. They sought to revitalise the vines and work out the best expression for these old varetals, working without chemicals in the vineyard and without selected yeasts or any other additions in the cellar. They make an impressively dizzying number of different wines, all of which are unified by a very distinctive house style - raw, visceral and pungent reds, and salty, turbid, expressive whites. As a couple they have an insatiable energy that really comes through in the wine.
Origin: Bonastre, Tarragona, Spain
Vintage: 2020
Grape variety: Cartoixa Vermell (Red Xarel-lo)
Food pairing: Risotto with porcini mushrooms, sushi, tuna, paella — 19 days ago
Yeast and dried apricots. Fun!! — 12 days ago
New Anthem Beer Project : Clapback (Strata Triple Dry Hopped)
hand select Citra in the kettle, whirlpool, and then twice in a very generous double dry hop ~ THEN dry hopped a final time w Strata
honeydew and cantaloupe, then passion fruit and mango, w hints of citrus (grapefruit and maybe orange julius) — a month ago
Pairs well with the Adam Project. Very drinkable. Like the fruit notes. No alcohol heat at all. Bright. — a month ago
Finally tried Kuheiji’s Burgundy project (NB: their efforts in France yielded one of my most memorable sakés in 2019 - the Camargue; notes on Delectable). This was quite the changeling - started off reductive with a red-fruited palate, light airy touch, juicy acidity, and no noticeable oak. Combined with the hint of fruit sweetness in the back end, I just shot straight for Beaujolais in my blinded guess. Should have waited as my mistake became quite apparent over dinner. With air, the wine took on a darker/black fruit profile and showed obvious signs of oak treatment, though well-integrated. It was all blackcurrants, plums, raspberries, cinnamon, dark chocolate, cedar, and a hint of earthiness/minerality (appellation?). The palate remained airy and juicy, with that fruit sweetness in the finish perhaps indicative of the warm vintage. I enjoyed this as it had energy, though DC found the wine a little too oaky for his liking and KK noted some bottle variation with this being a weaker pull. — 12 days ago
Paco Suro
Really really fun. Skin contact. Clean. Lean mean fighting machine with some natural funk. — 12 days ago