Making the wine
Each step from vineyard to bottle, with the recorded dates.
Step by step
7 steps in the making of Ancestral. Open a step to see why it was taken and what it gives the wine.
Step 1: Vineyard plan
Parcel P14 farmed and sampled for a fresh Ancestraldeclared
Why, and what it gives the wine
Why
The vineyard plan is set before the season, because the acidity is made on the vine.
In the glass
Fruit that arrives with the fresh acidity this wine is built on.
Trepat on the vine at Verdú before the 2025 pick. Step 2: Picked by hand
26 September 2025declared
21.2 °Brix and pH 3.5 at harvestmeasured
Why, and what it gives the wine
Why
Sugar sets how much pressure the bottle can build; acidity protects the wine in place of sulphur.
In the glass
Moderate alcohol and the freshness to carry the bubbles.
Trepat collected by hand in Verdú for the 2025 Ancestral lot. Step 3: Pressed to juice only
Whole, unwashed Trepat pressed straight to juicemeasured
Why, and what it gives the wine
Why
The skins pass their wild yeasts to the juice in the press; seeds and stems keep their tannin.
In the glass
A light, clear rosé with a soft texture.
Whole Trepat pressed without washing. Juice runs free of skins, stems and seeds. Step 4: Into the tank
Free-run juice moved to stainless steel straight after pressingmeasured
Why, and what it gives the wine
Why
Juice is most exposed between press and fermentation, before its own CO₂ covers it.
In the glass
Clean, bright juice entering fermentation with its aromatics intact.
Pressed Trepat juice running into the stainless tank. Step 5: Fermented by its own yeasts
The grapes’ own yeasts, warming naturally to 14–16 °C in stainless steelmeasured
Why, and what it gives the wine
Why
Many wild yeast strains from the skins start the fermentation and hand it on to one another.
In the glass
Layered flavour with a light sourdough note.
The juice ferments in stainless steel on its own indigenous flora. Step 6: Bottled while still fermenting
October 2025declared
Bottled at 1,008–1,010 g/L, with about 24 g/L of sugar left for the bubblestarget
Why, and what it gives the wine
Why
Bottled mid-fermentation, the wine keeps its own CO₂ under crown cap.
In the glass
Natural bubbles at 5.5–6 bar, from the grape’s own sugar.
Bottled while the original fermentation is still active. Step 7: On the lees, then disgorged
Disgorged and released October 2026declared
On the lees in bottle from October 2025 to October 2026; disgorged with zero SO₂ and zero dosagetarget
Why, and what it gives the wine
Why
The lees release mannoproteins that protect the wine from oxidation.
In the glass
A dry, saline finish with a bread-crust note from the lees.
Disgorged with zero dosage.