Blau Cru, a single-variety Malvasia de Sitges, is a wine that defines us and sparks a keen interest in the unique history of this grape.
There are doubts regarding its precise origin. Some sources place it in Crete. Others, on the eastern coast of the Peloponnese, specifically in Monemvasia. Hence, the derivation of its name.
The Greeks, a seafaring people, scattered and sowed its seeds across the Mediterranean until they reached the Catalan coast.
We are therefore speaking of an ancient variety, as old as the cultivation of the vine itself.
Once in Penedès, Malvasia survived in relative obscurity for centuries in the Garraf region, never being a widely cultivated grape and always standing in the shadow of other Penedès varieties.
And that concludes the historical background. It is incomprehensible that a grape with so much personality, allure, aging potential, and versatility has not shared the throne with the equally ancient Xarel·lo. We are talking about a Queen variety. Using musical similes, it is as if Chopin's Nocturnes, Howlin' Wolf's Sun Records era, or the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers had only recently been discovered. First-rate material, indeed.
Our relationship with this grape began in 2007. Wine is an adventure. Ours consisted of planting it further inland in Penedès, away from its historic coastal habitat. We went to Garraf to obtain cuttings to graft them at Can Comas. Thus, we brought a handful of salt and exuberant fruit further into Penedès. During the early years, it was part of Rupestris, a blend of Xarel·lo and Malvasia de Sitges. Once we mastered its cultivation and winemaking, we crafted Blau Cru in 2014.
Until Malvasia arrived at the Can Comas estate, Pardas was solely a winery cultivating and producing white wines from Xarel·lo. It brought a new aesthetic to our wines. Xarel·lo is pure austerity and minerality, intimacy, with fruit notes always understated.
Malvasia is pure seduction, an invasion of our senses, filled with exuberant fruit and immense salinity. A wild acidity within a Mediterranean context.
Malvasia is here to stay. To share the throne with the age-old Xarel·lo. Peer to peer.
At home, by now, it is cherished on the exact same level as Xarel·lo.