Alella: the sauló at the gates of Barcelona

Twenty centuries of sauló

Alella's wines were already praised by the Roman writers Pliny the Elder and Martial. Centuries later, in 1953, the designation was officially recognised — one of the oldest in Catalonia. Its vines grow on sauló: a white, highly permeable sandy soil of granitic origin that helps the fruit ripen and gives the wines finesse. The Mediterranean climate, fairly humid due to its coastal proximity, and the sea breeze complete a very particular terroir.

Two Alellas, not one

Behind the single name of the designation there are, in fact, two quite distinct territories: the southern Maresme and the more coastal Vallès — the 'known' Alella, which has historically supplied Barcelona — and the northern Vallès, or Baix Montseny, an area with more fertile soils and a colder, wetter climate due to the influence of the massif, much less documented. This second Alella is often the great unknown even to those who know the designation well.

Pansa Blanca, cousin of Xarel·lo

The most characteristic variety is Pansa Blanca, very similar to Xarel·lo but with a personality of its own. Much of the wine is still made in urban farmhouses built on the hillsides, a tradition in which the Alella Vinícola cooperative (1906) stands out, with a building by the modernist architect Jeroni Martorell.

Why we're not there yet

Alella is not yet part of our catalogue: it's one of the territories we're following closely, because its combination of sauló, Pansa Blanca and proximity to Barcelona fits everything we look for at Terroir Radical. When we close a collaboration with a winemaker from this area, you'll find it here.