Els Bassots is perhaps JR's most iconic wine and also his most mysterious. My sommelier friends are always talking about how Chenin is transparent of soil and harvest conditions. Bassots can range from a rich oxidative style that recalls the wines of Marc Angeli in Anjou, to a buttoned-up and reticent acid-bomb, marked by a volcanic sort of reduction. For me, 2022 is in the sweet spot.

Joan spent years working in a large cellar in Catalunya and traveling the vineyards of France. His experiences helped guide him to the biodynamic farming and natural wine movements.

In 1999 he began a winemaking project in his wife’s village, Conca de Barberà, which is near Montblanc. In 2005, Joan began making his wines without sulfites, which is a practice that he continues today.

Joan founded PVN with his friend Laureano Serres. It’s the first association of natural wines in Spain. Each year they organize H2O, a wine fair that only accepts wines without sulfites.

The family cultivates over ten hectares of olive groves, almond trees and vines, as well as a vegetable garden for their own sustenance. There is a small farm with chickens, turkeys, sheep, cows and horses.

This helps complete the biodynamic cycle of life on the farm. This enables them to supply their own composts completing the cycle of life on the farm, and independent of foreign chemicals. It’s fundamental for working the land in a natural way.

A living ground cover always protects the soil of the vineyards in order to maintain their blance and ensure that the soil is rich humus and microorganisms. It also helps the soil maintain moisture, which is cruicial in the dry climate of Conca de Barbera.

From the beginning the vineyards of Escoda-Sanahuja have been biodynamiclly farmed using organic preparations made on site. The vineyards are located in various areas around Montblanc, all utilizing different systems of planting depending on the location, soil and grape variety. There are a wide variety of grapes planted, from many international varieties that Joan personally loves, to autochthonous varieties.

He likes to play with the grapes and feel for the expression of the vintage. He’s always looking for complexity and freshness.

Some of the constant cellar practices are that spontaneous fermentation is always the only way. Sulfites are completely banned in the cellar. The wines are always made completely naturally and as simply as possible.

“Wine is 95% water… with the rest vegetable matter!”

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