Arraona negre
Arraona is the name attributed to the ancient Iberian town of Sabadell. This wine was created with the aim of reclaiming the winegrowing past of the city and recovering farming, cultural and scenic values. We work manually on its production and uphold our commitment to a social and periurban farming initiative at the Can Gambús vineyard in the Sabadell Agricultural Park that L’Olivera has been managing with the Can Calopa team since 2010.
This wine is one of the outsourced microprojects L’Olivera engages in with the aim of strengthening alliances with the local community, sharing experiences and knowledge and helping to promote farming activity across different rural and urban settings. It is the result of an agreement between L’Olivera and Sabadell City Council to recover traditional winegrowing in the municipal area.
Terroir
ORIGIN: Vineyards from the Can Gambús estate in the Sabadell Agricultural Park. The Agricultural Park is an undeveloped protected agroforestry space to the west of the municipal area, between the districts of Castellarnau, Can Gambús and Ca n’Oriac. The land combines forests and streams with rain-fed and irrigated cropland.
SOIL: Chalky clay soil with a variable presence of stones, mainly pebbles, and a good capacity for water retention.
CLIMATE: Climate of a Mediterranean influence, characterised by mild winters, hot summers, moderate temperature changes and scarce and strongly irregular seasonal rainfall. The sea breeze comes along in the afternoon, easing the high summer temperatures.
Varieties
Grenache (88%) and Merlot (12%)
Vine growing
Organic farming. Manual harvest in 10-12 kg crates and selection on the vine.
Wine processing
Fermentation in a stainless-steel at a controlled temperature and aged on the lees for 3 months.
Production
2022 vintage: 2,704 bottles
Technical sheet
Arraona negre 2022
Characteristics of the vintage
The 2022 vintage has been marked by a continuous drought, which has exarcerbated the extreme conditions of 2021. After a winter and an early spring with normal temperatures, May began with a sudden increase in temperatures that lasted until August, reaching at 37.5ºC in May or 38.8ºC in August, surpassing some historical records and with heat waves that lasted for more than three consecutive weeks.
This, added to the low rainfall (393.7 litres in all of 2022), has led to the loss of the flower and the premature dehydration of the grapes and, as a consequence, a reduction in production of up to 50% of some of the more sensitive varieties.
Viticulture and wine processing
Organic farming. Manual harvest in 10 kg crates and selection on the vine. The grapes are then destemmed and gently crushed before performing a 72-hour cold soak. The must is fermented in a stainless-steel with selected yeasts at a controlled temperature. The grapes are removed when half-fermented in order not to extract too much tannic structure, giving a fine and well-balanced wine. It is aged on the lees in a stainless-steel vat for 3 months.
Analysis
Alcohol content: 14%
Total acidity: 3.06 g/l (sulphuric acid)
Volatile acidity: 0.43 g/l
Residual sugar: <0.5 g/l (glucose+fructose)
Total sulphites: 73 mg/l
Tasting notes
Bright, lively red colour, full to medium body with violet tinges. In the nose we find red fruit and underwood aromas and the floral aromas (violet) slowly appear. Pleasant in the mouth, with a velvety profile and marked acidity, making it ideal for pairing with fatty dishes such as meat and stews. Serve preferably at temperature of between 16 and 18ºC.
Awards
International Wine Awards 2019:
Gold medal (2017 vintage)