Anima Mundi 'Gres' 2023

Agustí founded Anima Mundi in 2015 with this guiding principle: through keen observation of the land, one is able to display the true expression of grape and place. In addition to Anima Mundi, Agustí is the head winemaker for his family's winery AT Roca, which focuses on terroir-driven champagne-method sparkling wines within the newly formed D.O. Classic Penedès and at their new project, Sileo, which focuses on expressing the terruño of Cornudella in Montsant with wines of Garnacha and Cariñena.  Anima Mundi, however, is a dream realized by Agustí outside of Spain’s appellation designations, and he is the lone driver of this project in a small corner of the family’s winery and vineyards, planted near the 11th century Benedictine monastery of Sant Sebastià dels Gorgs.

The vineyards are in the Costers d’Ordal and have extremely calcareous soils due to the influence of the nearby Garraf Massif. The area is located between Sant Sadurni d’Anoia (where their winery is currently located) and Vilafranca del Penedès. Above the ancient monastery, the landscape is a tapestry of mixed and varied soils and different microclimates along eroded valleys created by the many streams and rivers flowing west from the sheltering, calcareous Garraf Massif and the Mediterranean Sea.

Gres is from vineyards of Xarel-lo planted between 1956 and 1974 in Sant Sebastià dels Gorgs in the Alt Penedès. The soils are highly calcareous, but feature a remarkable amount of sandstone as well, and are cultivated according to organic and biodynamic principles. The grapes were harvested by hand and pressed whole cluster, then fermented and aged in two parts: half in 500L used French Oak barrels and half in stainless steel tanks. After 8 months of aging on the lees, the wine was blended and bottled without fining or filtering and with only a tiny amount of added SO2.

Producer: Anima Mundi

Country: Spain

Region: Catalunya

Varietal: Xarello

Appellation: Penedès

Vintage: 2023

Size: 750ml