The vineyards are located at over 780 metres above the level of the Mediterranean Sea, at 60 km inland. Therefore having a Continental climate slightly influenced by the Mediterranean Sea, very dry with many hours of sunlight, but with significant temperature differences between night and day owing to the altitude. This means we harvest very ripe grapes that conserve their acidity and freshness, making them ideal for top-quality wines and good ageing potential.

Soil

Mainly chalky soil with deeper layers of clay. At 2 meters depth here is a large compact mass of porous limestone rock, called “Toba” making it difficult for the vines to reach nutrients, but which allows the retention of moisture during very dry periods. This type of soil produces small, flavoursome grapes with high levels of acidity, the ideal characteristics for elegant, flavoursome topquality wines.

Organic Vine-Growing

Pago de Tharsys treats the soil and vines in accordance with organic farming standards.  No use of herbicides, chemical pesticides or synthetic fertilisers. They use natural resources and organic fertilisers to respect the balance of nature and to contribute to enriching the biodiversity in the vineyard. Observe and respect is our slogan.

Vintage

2018 had a winter and spring with enough rains to have a good water reserve that was ideal in the budding period. The summer was cooler and rainier than in previous years, so the grapes ripened a little later, but did so with a lot of quality. The Grenache was harvested on September 14. The especially low temperatures at the end of August and September preserved the natural acidity of the grapes, making this vintage one of the freshest and possibly longest-lived in the last 12 years.

Winemaking

Harvesting is done manually, in 10 kg crates, and the grapes pass through a manual selection process before being gently pressed. The wine is made using traditional methods, monitoring the entire pro- cess from harvest through to bottling wine ready to drink and enjoy.

Garnacha grapes are macerated during few hours so that their beautiful colour and the taste of the berries so characteristic of this variety can be extracted. After pressing the paste, the flower must is obtained, which is allowed to settle and clear by gravity, while fermenting at 16oC.

The bottling for the second fermentation was carried out in February and the bottles were placed in an horizontal position throughout the foam making and aging process for a period of more than 30 months. Turning the bottles for disgorging is manual, leaving the bottles in their racks for proper cleaning. No additional liquor is added to this cuvée. It is Brut Nature “0 Dosage” in order to show off the nature of Chardonnay grapes grown on our estate under organic farming techniques. Labelling and boxing is done by hand, one bottle at a time with the ut- most care. The facing label is made on baked clay by ceramic artists in our region, and is a tribute to the nature of our soils and ceramic arts so deeply rooted in our culture.