Valldolina ‘Clos Ardit’ Xarel-lo 2021

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

About Vall Dolina

VallDolina is an ode to the ancestral trade, farming and the soil. To the cultivation of organic vines; in the mud and sweat, on Sundays in the field. To the care of the earth that nourishes it.

Rooted in the Massís del Garraf since 1729.

Our product vindicates the ancestral craft of farming, pays tribute to the limestone magic of the territory, evokes the complex and sincere flavor of wines and cavas of old.

In the Vineyard

The Garraf Massif is a large limestone mass belonging to the southern end of the Serra Litoral, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea and the Penedès plains. It is a landscape of small hills, deep valleys and steep slopes.

The rugged geography means that viticulture is cultivated in small plots on clay-limestone soils, producing low but highly concentrated yields. In general, they are soils poor in organic matter, shallow with varying contents of clay on a bed of limestone, with the presence of some fossils and a permeable texture but with good moisture retention capacity.

The climate is typically temperate Mediterranean; more than 300 days of sunshine a year, concentrated rains in spring and autumn and with hot and dry summers. The proximity to the sea brings a humid and refreshing breeze, the Marinade, which benefits the vine by tempering and prolonging the ripening cycle of the grapes, favoring the concentration of sugars and polyphenolic maturity.

This specificity of the territory gives the wines specific attributes, being able to obtain wines of very high quality and a long storage potential thanks to the high acidity that the terroir provides as a protective agent.

The fact of cultivating on dry stone terraces means that the plots are small and that each of them is a whole universe, forming a mosaic of beams and paths, trees and crops in this particular agro-forestry landscape We practice a rainfed viticulture and we grow responsibly to preserve balance and biodiversity.

We plow the soil a couple of times a year as a necessary task to fluff it up and avoid erosion as much as possible, aware of being influenced by a Mediterranean climate where summers tend to be extreme.

In the Winery

The ‘Clos Ardit” is VallDolina’s  first wine aged in amphora. Naked of artifices, it brings us closer to the earth, Consistency of nuances and sincere virtues.

Grapes from the Tano vineyard (old vines). Harvested by hand Light skin maceration, followed by soft pressing and cold static demisting. Fermentation with native yeasts and aging with the fine lees for 5 months in two types of amphora, one of white clay and the other of red clay.

Where in the World is Valldolina?

Valldolina is a family winery in the Garraf zone of Penedès. They work 11 hectares of vineyards that have been certified organic since 1999.

The 3D fly through of the geology and cartology of Penedès beautifully illustrates the key influences on the region. Look for the Massif Garraf early on in the film to place Valldolina.