When discussing “the new wave”, it is easy to envision something cool, urban, and somewhat overly aesthetic. However, in the world of wine, it takes a different direction. Here, the new wave is not about designer labels or fermentations with technical names. It is about mud on boots, weathered hands, and a clear mission: returning to the roots.
Toni Carbó works in this spirit, being one of the key figures of the moment in Penedès (Catalonia). In 2012, he decided to take over the family vineyard and renamed it La Salada, in tribute to the farmhouse where his grandfather was born. He did not do it for marketing or feigned nostalgia, but for something deeper: because he believed that this untouched piece of land just 40 kilometres from Barcelona deserved to be listened to attentively.
And listen he did. Toni represents the fourth generation of winemakers in the family. Although he started making wine as it was done in the 1990s—with many instructions and little intuition—over time, observation, and the occasional act of defiance taught him the essential: that when the soil is alive and the grape is healthy, the best thing you can do is not interfere.
La Salada La Fusta is a quintessential example of this philosophy. A wine made 100% from the indigenous xarel·lo variety, from vines planted in 1985 on clay-limestone soil of the “La Fusta” plot. It is organically farmed and harvested manually at the optimal moment of ripeness. In the winery, direct pressing is conducted, and the must ferments with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks. Finally, the wine ages for 6 months on fine lees in stainless steel and used chestnut barrels. No added sulphites. No artifice. No tricks or deceit.
La Salada La Fusta is a wine with the soul of the landscape, tasting of clean earth and calm decision. A white that does not seek to impress, yet ends up doing so. Because when the wine is alive, it needs nothing more. No pretence. No ostentation. Just bottled truth.