TUTTI FRUTTI ANANAS
Nespola 2023
Roussillon, France
This wonderfully vibrant wine is made by infusing whole bunches of Vermentino in the fermenting juice of Grenache Blanc for two weeks. After pressing, the wine is transferred to concrete vats for a brief rest. A beautiful, hazy shade of sunset, the fruit is framed with gentle tannin and just the right amount of orange zest and spice.
Vermentino, Grenache Blanc
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
Tutti Frutti Ananas is a collaboration that sees Manuel of Vinyer de la Ruca team up with his friend Francesco Pesci of Les nes Ailés to make the kind of wines they like drinking by the Mediterranean down in Banyuls-sur-Mer.
The guys farm a small plot of Syrah, Grenache, Carignan and Mourvèdre planted over granite next to the Pedres Blanques vineyard in El Rimbau, high in the hills above Collioure and also purchase small amounts of organic Vermentino and Grenache Gris planted over sand, schist and quartz from a grower closer to the village itself. They make the wines together in Les 9 Caves, a cooperative cellar they share in an old garage in the town’s centre. The wines ferment and age in large concrete vats and are bottled young, brimming with life.
Under their own labels, they each farm old bush vines planted on steep slopes over pure schist. In this arid climate, yields are painfully low and the resulting wines are powerful and intense, often requiring careful ageing to show their true pedigree. The idea here is to do something a little different and as the name suggests the wines are vibrant, easygoing and most importantly, incredibly delicious.