Celler Pardas -- Negre Franc

Pardas is one of my favorite wineries in all of Spain. Their dedication to bringing back to life long-neglected indigenous grape varietals, coupled with total natural winemaking standards, inspires me to seek out equally worthy projects around the globe. It also gives me hope and confidence that natural wine can indeed be made in a delicious, clean, and affordable style. Its name, negre franc, is a bit of a play on words. Yes it is a Cabernet Franc dominant blend, but it is also their ‘honest (frank) red.’ who doesn’t like a bit of wordplay, eh? This wine is big & robust, but has solid acidity to keep it lively on the palate.

Grape: Cabernet Franc 77%, Cabernet Sauvignon 19%, Tempranillo 4%

Region: Penedès, Spain

Farming: Certified Organic, zero pesticides/herbicides/chemicals, un-ploughed soil, hand harvested

Winery: Gravity run juice into concrete tank, aged 11 months French oak, light filtration, unfined