Character and Viticulture of the Bitlles Valley | Celler Pardas

WHERE THE LANDSCAPE FINDS ITS BALANCE

HARMONIC EXPRESSION

The agroforestry landscape of the Riudebitlles valley forms a beautiful and interesting mosaic where forests, cereal fields, vineyards, and small rural villages alternate in a gentle and harmonic way. The river's influence defines our orography, humidity, wind direction, and, of course, the estate's soil types.

CAN COMAS ESTATE

ORIENTATION AND CLIMATE

Located between 200 and 300 meters above sea level, the Can Comas Estate in the Upper Penedès crosses the entire Riudebitlles valley, where we enjoy an irregular Mediterranean climate—mild and semi-arid—with an average rainfall of about 500 ml/m², mainly in spring and autumn, and mild temperatures.

For us, it is a privilege to work in this incomparable setting that we enjoy every day.

CAN COMAS ESTATE

SOILS AND PLOTS

LES OBAGUES (THE SHADY SLOPES)

Clay-limestone terraces with deep, stony soils where we have mainly planted Cabernet Franc, Monastrell, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Recently, due to climate change, droughts, and heatwaves, everything is being reconsidered: sun-loving varieties such as Xarel·lo, Sumoll, and for the first time, Garnatxa Negra are now planted in this shadier part of the estate—a scenario that was unthinkable when we started the project nearly thirty years ago.This is the birthplace of Pardas Aspriu, a single-plot wine of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon (Vinya la Barraca), and Pardas Negre Franc, a selection from different Cabernet Franc plots.

LES PLANES (THE PLAINS) I ELS COSTERS (THE SLOPES)

The heart of the valley is composed of deep, loamy and fertile alluvial soils. We basically grow Malvasia de Sitges with which we make the Pardas Blau Cru wine. We also have a Xarel lo plantation in the pipeline where we will vinify our Pell a Pell sparkling wine.
On the southern slope of the estate we find limestone slopes where carbonates have cemented themselves, forming a petrocalcic horizon. The roots of the vines are embedded in this mother rock and provide a lot of tension, energy and minerality to our grapes. These are ancient soils with their poorest slope. In this particular context, Xarel lo and Sumoll reign, finding the perfect conditions for their expression. This is where we harvest the grapes to make the Pardas Sumoll rosé and the Pardas Sus Scrofa black. As for the Xarel los, the costers are where we harvest the Pardas Rupestris, with its Xarel lo base, the Pardas Pur Xarel lo, a selection from Vinyes Velles, and the Pardas Aspriu Xarel lo, a plot from the La Lola vineyard.

NEW PLANTATIONS IN THE RIUDEBITLLES VALLEY

While Can Comas Estate is our home base, over the years we have cultivated land outside the Bitlles Valley. Generally, these were leased lands of significant viticultural interest that also offered personal learning opportunities. Those plots have gradually been phased out as we acquired our own land in the Bitlles Valley, specifically to the south and north of the village of Sant Pere de Riudebitlles, thereby strengthening our commitment to the Bitlles Valley and deepening our understanding of the singularity and characteristics of each terroir we work.

VITICULTURE

HONEST VITICULTURE

As dwellers of the Can Comas Estate, we have the conviction and the obligation to preserve and improve our farmland and its surroundings. As winegrowers and producers, we must return to the land everything it gives us.

We all know that a vineyard is not an ecosystem that takes care of itself, like a forest might. But the idea is to bridge that gap. For this reason, we practice strictly dry-land viticulture, working with spontaneous cover crops when the weather permits and allowing the vintages to express themselves as freely as possible. We work the vineyards in an austere manner, carrying out conservation agriculture with a radically organic approach. With climate change as an unavoidable reality—along with rising temperatures, droughts, and associated heatwaves—we have had to rethink our entire vineyard philosophy. Nothing is forever: wider planting patterns are becoming necessary, as are more drought-resistant rootstocks, the relocation of varieties to different contexts, and switching from trellising to bush vines (goblet) for some varieties. We will see how it goes. It is an uncertain challenge.

Understanding the complexity of an ecosystem like this requires a sharp eye, a special sensitivity, and a profound awareness of the place.

Fertilization, kept to the bare minimum, serves to activate the life of our soils and help each vine find its balance with the place where it takes root. The vine, through its own effort to obtain water and nutrients, provides us with grapes of unique character, expression, and balance.Our way of working the vineyards is therefore personalized and sensitive, and as a result, we obtain grapes with a natural balance.