Hey there,
I asked Toni when he knew he'd make wine for a living.
His answer: "Honestly, I still don't know. We don't make a living from it."
Toni and Lluís make natural wine at Clos Costela, a tiny estate high in the mountains of Penedès, in Catalonia.
Their wines were the very first I ever poured at a tasting, a couple of years ago in Glasgow.
Most people in the room had never tried a wine with no added sulphites. Everyone loved them, and quite a few were genuinely surprised.
Fun fact: Toni's English is about as good as my Spanish, which is to say non-existent. If you ever saw our messages to each other, you'd laugh. But he's such a lovely guy, and somehow we always understand each other.
He told us about 6am at harvest: the smell of grass, the nerves, the animals "and the odd yawn."
About the falcon that circles over the vineyard.
And about the hard part nobody sees, including the good customer who turned into a big debtor.
It's honest, funny and a little bit heartbreaking. Worth five minutes.
Read Toni's story in his own words →
The best way to get to know them is to taste the case.
There are three whites. Forat Blanc gives yellow apple, pear and a hint of smoky flint. Clos Costela 23 is all clementine, orange peel and jasmine, tangy and saline. A Foc Lent means "over a slow fire" in Catalan, and it's creamy, with ripe peach and toasted almond.
Then there's CÍNIC, an orange wine full of wild berries and blood orange peel, and Forat Negre, a light red that one customer says gets even better if you let it breathe. And La Llambarda, a pét-nat made the ancestral way, with bubbles that come from the grapes alone: red berries, plums and forest herbs.
Every bottle is made with no added sulphites, and Toni and Lluís pack the box themselves.
One customer once emailed to say CÍNIC, their orange wine, "tasted like burnt apple." I assumed something had gone wrong and called him to arrange a replacement.
"Why?" he said. "I loved it. I drank the whole thing!"
Six bottles, straight from their cellar, with UK duties and customs already paid.
What people are saying:
★★★★★ "Fast delivery and fantastic wine from great wine makers! Recommended" (Scott)
★★★★★ "Excellent wines. Forat Negre is a light, refreshing, easy-to-drink wine, even more pleasing if left to breathe." (Linda)
Another small, independent winery we're proud to stand behind.
Cheers,
Greg x
This newsletter is written by Greg, founder of Vivan Cooperative — buying direct from independent winemakers across Europe, no importers, no distributors, no middlemen.
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