Wine of the Month #1 – Marta de Baltà, a strong female wine of love

In the middle of the Penedès wine region, especially famous for its white sparkling wines, there is a great family winery, Parès Baltà, whose origins date back to the year 1790.

Spanish Trails has been collaborating with them for more than 15 years now and the visit to their property and the tasting of their wine are still among the most remarkable experiences we offer during our wine tour Penedès Day Trip.

For this month, we would like to suggest one of the incredible wines they make: Marta de Baltà.
Marta de Baltà is a red wine dedicated to Marta Casas, enologists of the winery and wife of Josep, one of the brothers belonging to the third generation of the Cusiné family, owners of the company. Everyone there likes to refer to it as the wine that stemmed from love, since it was born at the same time as the love between Marta and Josep.

This is how Marta Casas tells the story behind it:

“I met Josep, my future husband, when I was studying Pharmacy at the University of Barcelona. With him, my curiosity for the world of wine began. Josep introduced me into this world through many tastings and, once married, we traveled to different wine regions all over the world. With time, I was learning and discovering new things and my passion for wine grew to the point that I decided to study Enology. After graduating from the University of Enology, I started to work at the family winery in the Penedès wine region, together with my sister in law, María Elena.
A few years later, we began studying Biodiamics, the vine growing techniques that most respect the planet and the natural environment.
The romanticism of the story is reflected in the fact that one of our favorite wines, Marta de Baltà, was named in my honor: my husband proposed to marry me and to dedicate this wine to me, at the same time! I loved the idea, and said yes to both proposals!”

With the microvinification of Syrah grapes proceeding from old vines, the enologists wanted to express the complexity and strength of the female character. It’s a single varietal wine in which the Syrah fills the palate with a velvet mix of various nuances that might seem contradictory, but that actually blend perfectly, composing a well balanced symphony of flavors and aromas.
Marta de Baltà is only elaborated with grapes from the best vintages, cultivated with biodynamic techniques, and with minimal intervention in the cellar.

Some tasting notes

Appearance: intense robe, purple tones.

Nose: intense and complex aroma, with notes of cherries, black berries and red berries jam, very well integrated with the toasted and vanilla hints given by the aging in wood barrels.

Taste: the entry is silky and velvety, with a great concentrated full body. The impressive initial balance between the fruit and the wood flavors opens the way to the creamy and lactic retronasal nuances. Pleasant aftertaste and long persistence.

And some winemaking techniques:
The grapes are harvested by hand and transported in small crates to avoid the oxidation of the must.

The maceration and fermentation happen in 400 liter, first year French oak barrels, at a controlled temperature of 24-29ºC. During the process of maceration, a manual punching down three times a day is applied. The fermentation goes on for 25 days.
Afterwards, it’s aged in new French oak barrels (Allier) for 13 months.

Final impressions

Marta de Baltà is an amazing Penedès wine that can be paired with red meats, especially good with lamb, but that can also be enjoyed while reading a book, during an after dinner conversation with friends or in romantic moments with your special one!

This is definitely a demonstration that love and passions are fundamental tools to achieve our dreams…