'Pardalet' Artesano Vintners 2021

The small winemaking reality of Artesano Vintners presents the ‘Pardalet’, a slightly macerated Catalan white wine skilled at combining dynamic and complex flavors. This label comes from an unusual union between the indigenous grape variety Xarel-lo and the French variety Chenin Blanc. Artesano Vintners is the project of young New Zealand winemakers Mike Shepherd and Alex Craighead, strongly intent on enhancing the important winemaking potential of Catalonia while respecting the raw materials and the genuineness of the wines, produced in very limited quantities.

The ‘Pardalet’ from Artesano Vintners comes from a blend of Xarel-lo and Chenin Blanc, grown according to the principles of organic farming on clay-sandy soils rich in limestone, at about 300 meters above sea level. The grapes are hand-picked and then pressed in stainless steel tanks for spontaneous alcoholic fermentation, associated with a short contact between the must and the skins. The subsequent aging period also takes place in steel for a few months and the mass is finally bottled without undergoing clarification and filtration. Furthermore, throughout the processing, no enological aids or additives are used, including sulfur.

The Catalan orange wine Artesano Vintners ‘Pardalet’ expresses a slightly cloudy straw-yellow color tending towards orange. The nose offers peculiar hints of Mediterranean herbs, yellow-fleshed fruit, hay, salted citrus, and spices. Rich and substantial the sip, endowed with excellent freshness and a pronounced saline trail that accompanies the long finish reminiscent of Mediterranean sensations. Due to its marine character, the ‘Pardalet’ represents an ideal pairing with various medium-structured fish dishes.