Cosmic Vinyaters, Empordà Tinto Gratitud 2022

As with Ruben Parera, you could say the same thing about Salvador Batlle, only difference being he took his talent from the Penedès to the Emporda region just south of the french border. His family still grows grapes in the Penedès and he makes their wines, but we thought his new project in the Empordá was more representative of his cosmic character.

Since taking over, he's applied strict biodynamic practices and has focused on local grape varieties: garnacha and carinyena. In addition to buying old vineyards spreading across 3h, he's planting new ones with hopes that those who come after him can find the same value in the sandy soils of Agullana that he did. He's immersed himself in the region and much to the regret of his Penedès roots, he's become one of them now.

In the cellar, he's become somewhat of an anfora master and has found in these clay vats his biggest ally. Whether it be fermentation or aging, all of his wines pass through anforas at some point and see little to no oak. If you ask him, he'll ask back, "why interrupt the natural state of the grapes by using foreign materials when you can use the same ground where they grew?". It's obvious that Salva is a firm believer in anforas and feels that they preserve the purest expressions of the grapes.

The names of his 3 wines represent everything it took for him to leave his native Penedès and embark on this new journey. All of them made without filtering, fining, or additions of any kind. There's something about his wines that is hard to put in writing. Something mystic about them. Simply put, he's a cosmic.cat