VINYER DE LA RUCA
Ellittico 2022
Roussillon, France
From a secluded spot down by the river in Banyuls, this is one of the coolest sites in the area and one of the most beautiful vineyards we have seen. A blend of Carignan and Grenache from vines up to forty years old planted over sand and schist, this is de-stemmed by hand, foot stomped and spends just two days on skins followed by a year in large old casks. Heady with berries and woody herbs, this is a wine with a wonderful sense of place.
Carignan, Grenache
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
Vinyer de la Ruca is the project of Manuel Di Vecchi Staraz, a young guy from Tuscany who looks after old vines of Grenache, Carignan and Mourvèdre a few hundred metres from the Mediterranean in the Pyrénées.
The fruit grows wild on sheer shale terraces along walls of dry stone. It is battered by wind from the sea and soaked in Mediterranean sun. The vines are tended without machines or chemicals, by hand and mule.
Crops are low, grapes are crushed by foot, de-stemmed by hand and fermented naturally and the wines are bottled with no additions at all. Manuel’s wines from this site have a concentration and intensity of flavour that is thrillingly unique.
In recent years, Manuel has joined up with some friends to make another collection of wines from organic vineyards under the name Tutti Frutti Ananas. As the name suggests, these wines, though made in the same spirit, are the kind of easygoing, breezy wines that the guys like drinking day to day.