New keyline plantation on the Can Martí estate: Carignan

During this spring, the Torelló viticulture team has planted 2,770 red Carignan vines on the Soleia vineyard on the Can Martí estate, a total of 1.11 hectares. This is the 12th variety that we can find on the property.

A bundle of carignan vines ready for planting

What types of wines do you produce with Carignan?

Carignan is a traditional red grape variety, with late sprouting and maturing. It produces red wines with a lot of colour and astringency thanks to the high concentration of phenolic compounds, such as anthocyanins and tannins. Because of these qualities, it is highly valued in coupages, especially with grenache.

Carignan, a grape variety with historical references

It is a variety with historical references in the Penedès as is demonstrated in different documents that are conserved in the Vinseum, Museum of Wine Culture, like one from the end of the 18th century “Grapes known in the Panadès” (Manuel Barba i Roca), or one from “The Labourer”, a bi-weekly agricultural magazine.

What is the keyline planting system?

In the planting we have used a system known as keyline, a design technique for vines that respects the natural form of the landscape with the objective of making maximum use of the rainwater, minimising the erosion of the land and improving the fertility. As the Head of Viticulture at Torelló, Quim Isart, reminds us, “beyond the sinuous forms of the plantation that makes it aesthetically elegant, what we are really after is the maximum sustainability of our cultivation.”

Other vineyards at Finca Can Martí planted using the keyline system

The vineyards of Can Martí de Dalt planted using the keyline system

This has been the third vineyard that we have planted using this technique in the Can Martí estate. The first was “Les Feixes de Can Martí” in 2016, and the second “Les Feixes del Xullo” in 2017.  Both are made up of small plots of little extension below our Mas de la Torrevella, with the traditional varieties of Xarel.lo, Macabeu and Parellada, plots planted between 0,3 and 0,7 hectares. They have a very particular orography, a succession of 5 terraces on a slope that surround the country house, and that is, exactly, why we decided to plant them using keyline.