Can Rafois Dels Caus, Terraprima Blanc Penedes White 2024

Penedès (Massís del Garraf) 

White · 

750ml

Can Ràfols dels Caus sits at around 300 meters elevation in the Massís del Garraf, a dramatic limestone massif rising just inland from the Mediterranean coast of Catalonia. The estate is the project of Carlos Esteva, a restless ampelographer who has spent decades cultivating an extraordinary range of varieties — 28 in total across the property — always with an eye toward understanding what this rugged karst terrain can do. He's also a preservationist: the old vines sourced from Mas Sunyer were once threatened by a proposed cement factory, and Carlos acquired the land specifically to save them. The estate is certified organic, farming is done by hand, and the philosophy is one of minimal intervention from vine to bottle.

The Terraprima Blanc is the estate's entry-level white and one of the most compelling values in Spanish natural wine. The 2024 is 80% Xarel·lo and 20% Macabeo, each variety fermented separately with spontaneous native yeasts — the Macabeo in temperature-controlled stainless steel, while 20% of the Xarel·lo sees time in 425-liter chestnut barrels. Sulfur only at bottling