Celler Mas Candí Desig Xarel·lo 2024, Penedès, Organic

Desig, Catalan for ‘desire’, is a certified organic white from Celler Mas Candí in Les Gunyoles, Avinyonet del Penedès, on the edge of the Garraf Massif. It is made from 100% Xarel·lo, the native Penedès grape at the heart of the region’s whites and sparkling wines, from old vines of more than 50 years on clay-limestone soils, with the vineyards certified organic by the CCPAE. The grapes are given 24 hours of skin maceration to build texture and aroma. The juice is then settled naturally and the wine is aged on its lees in stainless steel tanks, without oak, to keep its freshness and purity.

In the glass it is a medium yellow-gold. The nose shows pear and golden apple, with a herbal hint of fennel. The palate is broad, rounded and lively, with a mineral streak that comes from the old vines and clay-limestone soils, and a fresh, clean finish.

Serve chilled, at around 8–10°C. It is lovely with seafood, grilled fish, paella and other rice dishes, salads, fresh cheeses and vegetable tapas, and it has the texture to handle roast chicken or pork. Drink it within two or three years to enjoy its freshness.

Celler Mas Candí is a young family winery in Les Gunyoles, Avinyonet del Penedès, on the edge of the Garraf Massif Natural Park. In 2006, Ramon Jané broke 500 years of family tradition by vinifying part of the family’s grapes with his wife Mercè Cuscó and his friend, the Catalan winemaker Toni Carbó, instead of selling the whole crop to large cava producers. The Cuscó family has been documented farming these lands since the 17th century. Today the winery works around 20 hectares in Avinyonet del Penedès and Guardiola de Font-Rubí, focusing on native varieties, especially Xarel·lo and Sumoll, and recovering forgotten local grapes. All of its vineyards and the winery are certified organic by the CCPAE, and in 2018 Mas Candí left the Cava DO to join Corpinnat, a quality-focused collective for Penedès sparkling wines.