Costador Terroirs, Metamorphika Sumoll Negre, 2018

Costador terroirs are single-vineyards, organic wines produced from old vines. Mountains vineyards maximum highs of 864 meters. The majority of the fermentation is carried out in clay amphorae called Tinajas. The orange wines are fermented with whole berries with skin contact during 6 to 8 weeks. The final juice is a real & authentic wine with a natural taste.

They work with autochthon Catalan varieties and another with singular terroirs. Costa D’Or (or Costador) Terroirs Mediterrani is around 15 different plots, scattered around Tarragona province, mostly centred around Conca de Barberà, with mountainous as well as Mediterranean influences. The soil around here is mostly calcareous and this limestone minerality shines through in all of these wines. Costa D’Or farm all their vines organically, the only intervention in the vineyard is the use of pheromones to repel pests, a little copper and sulphur if and when needed and sometimes the use of sodium bicarbonate to prevent powdery mildew. After harvest, Joan places the whole berries in a large amphora (from Padilla) where they begin to ferment, mostly intact, though the weight from the grapes on top crush the grapes below, allowing the juice to pass from the bottom of the amphora upwards. The grapes are left to ferment and macerate here for 8 weeks before the juice is then pressed off. The entire maceration period is temperature-controlled to between 15 and 17 degrees celsius throughout. After this, the wine is passed back to amphora for another 9 months where it rests on the lees before being racked off and bottled. Metamorphika Sumoll Negre has minimal sulphur (10mg/L) added before bottling. Joan does this just before he racks the wine as he says this is one of the most vulnerable times for it, as it is passed through the pump there is a lot of exposure to oxygen. This pinch of sulphur is the only chemical added to the wine.