Vermut Les Cousins Donzell

Cousins are said to be that perfect mix of friends and siblings, a relationship that never lets you down. Adrià and Marc Pérez (Les Cousins) are living proof of the strong bond between cousins that develops over a whole lifetime. They are the same age and have grown up together around vineyards and wineries. They are the son and nephew of Josep Lluís Pérez (Clos Martinet), one of the driving forces behind the extraordinary rebirth of Priorat.

 

Here, in the land they know best, they decided to start Les Cousins, their own winemaking project, and produce Les Cousins Donzell, an aromatic wine that cousins Adrià and Marc Pérez make in collaboration with Joan Carbó, who develops drinks at the renowned restaurant Celler de Can Roca.

 

Donzell is the name given to wormwood (artemisia absinthium) in Catalan and is the soul of a vermouth. It is an essential ingredient in these types of drinks. Using this gives the drink a greater or lesser amount of bitterness depending on the amount used during production. Wormwood also has medicinal properties that stimulate appetite and aid digestion.

 

Les Cousins Donzell is made from a rosé wine of organically cultivated Cariñena and Garnacha that macerates in a wooden foudre for about six months with a selection of local herbs like rosemary, thyme, fennel and lavender along with citrus peel and cardamom. This is an aromatic wine, with a refined and elegant flavour that contains absinthe, which adds that special bitterness and makes it reminiscent of vermouth, the leading aperitif.

 

In its own way, Les Cousins Donzell functions as an “unusual vermouth”, because it has no alcohol or sweet concentrates added, yet it is a nod to the well-known social trend of having an aperitif. It is important to remember that the word we use for this type of drink, vermouth, derives from the German word Wermut, which means wormwood (or donzell in Catalan). An exquisite return to the roots with a touch of modernity and elegance.