Biodynamic Llicorella & the Friendship Hand
Gratavinum is an estate in the heart of Priorat, in the village of Gratallops, between the mountain ranges of the Tarragona province in Catalonia, Spain. Founded in 2001 by a group of university friends — winemaker Jordi Fernandez and the Cusiné family of Parés Baltà — the domaine farms 12 hectares of steep, terraced vineyards (costers) in Gratallops and Poboleda on the iconic llicorella slate soils. Certified organic since 2003 and biodynamic by Demeter since 2012, Gratavinum is one of only a handful of fully Demeter-certified estates in Priorat. Their philosophy is one of radical respect: no irrigation, no pesticides, no herbicides, and a commitment to old-vine Garnatxa and Carinyena that plunge their roots deep into the compacted slate. The result is Priorat of extraordinary mineral intensity, honest transparency, and living tension — wines that taste of the llicorella scree, the Mediterranean sun, and the patient, collaborative hand of friendship.
Rovira Virgili, Cusiné & the Friendship Project
The story of Gratavinum begins in 2001, when a group of young oenology students at Rovira Virgili University in Tarragona — Jordi Fernandez, Marta Casas, Maria Elena Jimenez, and later the Cusiné brothers Josep and Joan of Parés Baltà in the Penedès — decided to make wine together in Priorat. They found adjacent plots of land beyond the village of Gratallops and built the winery from scratch. Jordi Fernandez, who had fallen in love with the land's brutal beauty during his studies, took the helm as winemaker. The others returned to focus on Parés Baltà, but all five remain partners, coming together each year to decide on the final blends.
The name Gratavinum derives from the combination of Gratallops and Vinum (wine in Latin), a tribute to the Romans who introduced vine cultivation to Priorat many centuries ago. The group's curiosity about biodynamics lingered long after they finished studying. After several years of organic viticulture, they attended a Demeter workshop in 2010 with a 'let's see' attitude — and it changed their lives. Certified organic in 2003, Gratavinum achieved full Demeter biodynamic certification in 2012, making it one of only two fully certified biodynamic producers in the region at the time. Today, the estate produces approximately 20,000 bottles annually across five labels, each one a different expression of the same llicorella landscape.
Jordi Fernandez heads the estate with two young assistants, Josep and Jordi, who work with him in the vineyards and the cellar. 'We work as a team and do everything from pruning to wine tourism,' he says. 'As a winemaker, I love the chance to do everything, from working in the vineyards to helping to sell the wine. Visiting winemakers cannot go deep into a winery's daily routine. That, to me, misses a big part of the secret to producing great wine.' The spirit of Gratavinum is thus inseparable from the spirit of friendship: five people who bonded over environmental concerns and wine travel, who built a winery with their own hands, and who continue to taste and blend together as they did when they were students.
"We are giving life back to the soil – enhancing life in every form, above and below the ground. Does that make the wine taste better? I think so. I do know one thing: it will be better for your body."
— Jordi Fernandez
Gratallops, Poboleda & the Llicorella Spine
The estate is centred on Gratallops and Poboleda, two of the twelve village zones of DOQ Priorat, nestled between mountain ranges in the rugged interior of Tarragona. The vineyards are planted on steep terraces known as costers, carved into hillsides of llicorella — the distinctive slate and compacted clay sediment that defines Priorat's terroir. This is not soil in the conventional sense; it is a brittle, glittering scree of quartz-rich slate that forces vines to send roots deep into fissures in search of water and nutrients. The name llicorella comes from the Catalan word for slate, and it is this mineral skeleton that gives Priorat wines their unmistakable smoky, graphite, stony character.
The climate is continental-Mediterranean: brutally hot, dry summers, cold winters, and low rainfall. Gratavinum does not irrigate. The vines — many of them old, including 105-year-old Carinyena for the Coster cuvée — must survive on what the llicorella provides. The lack of water is not a deficiency but a virtue: it concentrates the fruit, deepens the roots, and imparts the mineral intensity that distinguishes the estate's wines. 'Water is like gold in Priorat,' says Fernandez. 'To spend thousands of litres of water for the plants while the people in the villages struggle is bizarre. Our consumption is as low as possible, even during harvest.' The roots grow as deep as possible, better withstanding periods of drought and simultaneously enhancing the flavours derived from the soil.
Biodynamic farming at Gratavinum goes far beyond the vineyard rows. They use Steiner's preparations, including Preparation 500 (fermented cow manure buried in cow horns), horsetail decoctions for mildew, and nettle teas for iron. They maintain vegetation between the rows, plant trees to foster biodiversity, and have created an ecosystem that invites wild animals — snakes, rabbits, foxes, wild boar, even deer and wolves — into the estate. The terraced vineyards must be worked entirely by hand, and the grapes are harvested manually and pressed in a traditional basket press. Early in 2020 they began harvesting rainwater manually from the winery roof for use in their biodynamic preparations. All biodegradable waste is composted in the vineyards; paper and glass are sent for recycling in the village. It is a labor of friendship, patience, and profound respect for one of Spain's most demanding wine landscapes.
Gratavinum is located in the village of Gratallops, in the Priorat region of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The estate's vineyards extend into the neighbouring village of Poboleda, situated between mountain ranges in the traditional heart of DOQ Priorat. The property is accessible from Reus, Tarragona, and the AP-7 motorway, and lies within one of the most historically significant and commercially prized wine regions of Spain. Gratallops has 250 inhabitants, seven restaurants, and 25 wineries — a village where wine production is the mainstay of life. The surrounding landscape is rugged and wild, with steep terraced hillsides, dry-stone walls, and the iconic grey-and-black llicorella soils that have defined Priorat's viticulture for centuries.
The Gratavinum terroir is defined by llicorella — a soil composed of compacted clay sediment and quartz-rich slate that has existed for thousands of years. The vineyards are planted on steep terraces called costers, carved into hillsides that require all work to be done by hand. The llicorella is neither fertile nor forgiving; it is a brittle, glittering scree that forces vines to send roots deep into fissures in search of water and nutrients. This struggle creates small berries with thick skins and concentrated flavours, imparting the mineral, smoky, graphite character that distinguishes Priorat wines. The terraces are supported by dry-stone walls that have been maintained for generations, and the combination of llicorella geology, low rainfall, and the drying tramontana wind creates a microclimate of extreme stress — warm enough to ripen Garnatxa and Carinyena fully, arid enough to prevent disease and concentrate the fruit to extraordinary intensity.
Jordi Fernandez and the Gratavinum team farm the estate according to biodynamic principles certified by Demeter, rejecting all synthetic herbicides, fungicides, and chemical fertilisers. They do not irrigate, forcing the vines to send roots deep into the llicorella in search of water and enhancing the mineral flavours derived from the soil. They use Steiner's biodynamic preparations, including Preparation 500, horsetail decoctions for mildew, and nettle teas for iron. Vegetation is maintained between the rows, and trees are planted throughout the estate to foster biodiversity and create sustainable ecological balances. The team has built an ecosystem that invites wild animals into the vineyards — snakes, rabbits, foxes, wild boar, deer, and wolves. All biodegradable waste is composted in the vineyards; other waste is recycled in the village. The result is a living vineyard where old vines, native flora, and wild fauna coexist in the biodynamic rhythm that the team initiated in the early 2000s.
The old vines at Gratavinum are the patrimony of the estate. Scattered across the llicorella terraces are century-old Carinyena vines — including 105-year-old specimens for the Coster cuvée — alongside mature Garnatxa, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon. These vines are free-standing, gobelet-pruned, and worked entirely by hand on the steep costers. Harvest is manual, with rigorous sorting in the vineyard. In the cellar, the basket press is central to the philosophy: gentle, slow, and laborious, it ensures that extraction remains soft and the tannins stay fine. The team takes turns at the press, and the juice is collected with minimal force to preserve the purity of the fruit. The old vines' deep, spreading root systems extract a greater diversity of minerals from the llicorella profile, and the patient, hand-shaped form of each vine is visible in the glass: wines of individuality, transparency, and living tension.
Amphorae, Demijohns & the No-Filtration Rule
For Jordi Fernandez and the Gratavinum team, the cellar is an extension of the vineyard's austerity. The guiding principle is one of minimal intervention and respect for the raw material: indigenous yeasts, no filtration, and minimal or no sulphur. The estate's vessel collection reflects their curiosity and refusal to standardise: 400-litre barrels, clay amphorae, and old glass demijohns discovered in the backyard of a Penedès farm. Each cuvée finds its own home, and the final blends are decided collectively by the five partners, just as they were when they were students.
The flagship 2πR — named after the perimeter of a circle, a nod to the wine's rounded character — undergoes cold maceration for seven days before ageing for fourteen months in French oak. Coster, the 100% Carinyena from 105-year-old vines, spends twelve months in amphora, preserving the purity of the old-vine fruit without any woody interference. Silvestris, the estate's natural wine with no added sulfites, is aged in a tripartite combination of new French oak (40%), amphora (40%), and glass demijohns (20%). The newest cuvée, Paratge Rocaforts, is 100% Garnacha fermented with 20% whole bunches and aged in 600-litre barrels and demijohn.
The basket press is central to the philosophy: gentle, slow, and laborious, it ensures that extraction remains soft and the tannins stay fine. Individual parcels are aged separately in barrels, amphorae, and demijohns before the final blending. The wines are bottled unfiltered, and sulphur is used only when absolutely necessary — in most vintages, none is added at any stage. Only in difficult years, when indigenous yeasts are scarce, is a minimal amount added at bottling. The result is Priorat that is unmistakably mineral and intense, yet handled with a lightness of touch that preserves the transparency of the llicorella and the honesty of the fruit.
Sustainability extends beyond the wine. Ten years ago, the estate reduced the bottle weight for their best-selling wine to 430 grams, and they have since reduced the bottle weight for their top cuvée Coster by 40%. Labels, capsules, crates, and cartons are produced an hour's drive from the winery, while corks are sourced from Catalunya. The winery itself is located far from the village with no electricity supply, so they generate their own power — with plans to install solar panels to complete a full carbon audit. Every decision, from the basket press to the bottle weight, is made with the same respect that defines the vineyard.
Basket Press, Amphorae & the Living Vessel
The guiding principle of Gratavinum is that the wine is made by the vineyard, spoken by the biodynamically farmed old vines of the Priorat costers, and protected by the minimum possible intervention. The biodynamic farming provides healthy, complex grapes. The hand harvest and basket press provide gentle extraction and pristine juice. The indigenous yeasts provide spontaneous, site-specific fermentation. The amphorae, demijohns, and barrels provide diverse, respectful ageing vessels that do not impose a single flavour profile on wines whose identity is rooted in the llicorella of Gratallops. The absence of filtration, selected yeasts, and excessive sulphur provides a wine that tastes of Priorat slate, not of the laboratory. And the collective blending by the five partners provides a wine that is honest, nourishing, and unmistakably the product of friendship. The cellar is not a factory; it is a quiet continuation of the hillside — a place where basket-press patience, amphora neutrality, and the refusal to standardise translate Priorat fruit into wine that is living, mineral, and deeply of its place.
2πR, Coster & the Silvestris Hand
Gratavinum produces approximately 20,000 bottles per year across a focused portfolio of red and sweet wines from biodynamically farmed estate vineyards in Gratallops and Poboleda. The range is built around the classic Priorat varieties — Garnatxa, Carinyena, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon — with old vines up to 105 years providing the backbone for the estate's most profound expressions. All wines share a common foundation: hand-harvested grapes from organic and biodynamic vineyards on llicorella slate, gentle pressing in a traditional basket press, fermentation with indigenous yeasts, and ageing in a diverse collection of barrels, amphorae, and old glass demijohns. The result is a range that is as honest as it is mineral: each cuvée a different facet of the same llicorella prism, each vintage a new conversation between vine, slate, and the biodynamic hand.
Gratallops & the Friendship Soil
Gratavinum is not merely a winery; it is a proof that a group of university friends, armed with biodynamic conviction and a shared love for one of Spain's most demanding landscapes, can transform a few hectares of abandoned llicorella terraces into one of the most honest and mineral wine producers in Priorat. In an era when the region is still dominated by heavy extraction, high alcohol, and international ambition, Jordi Fernandez and the Cusiné family have demonstrated that the same llicorella can produce transparency, the same old vines can produce modesty, and the same Garnatxa can produce finesse rather than force — if the farming is biodynamic, the press is a basket, and the cellar is a collection of amphorae, demijohns, and friendship.
The legacy of Gratavinum is the legacy of agricultural respect and collective vision. The five partners do not enter their vineyards to dominate them; they enter them to observe, to spray horsetail rather than copper, to collect rainwater for their preparations, and to accept that the llicorella demands humility. The 105-year-old Carinyena vines are not treated as commodities but as patrimony, as gifts from the past that demand patience and hand-work. The terraced costers are not machine-harvestable rows but sculptural, individual terraces, each one maintained by hand over decades, with dry-stone walls that hold the mountain together. And the basket press, the amphorae, the demijohns — these are not aesthetic choices but tools of neutrality, vessels that allow the vineyard to speak without the interference of technology or wood.
The future of the estate is tied to the future of Priorat and the old vines that Jordi and his team continue to tend with biodynamic patience. As the 105-year-old Carinyena accumulates another decade of llicorella wisdom, as the Silvestris finds its audience among drinkers seeking authenticity rather than spectacle, and as the solar panels eventually replace the fuel generator to complete the estate's carbon ambition, Gratavinum remains what the five friends have always intended it to be: a farm that makes living wines — mineral, honest, and deeply tied to the slate of Gratallops. The story of Gratavinum is the story of a group of students who looked at an abandoned Priorat hillside and saw not a ruin, but a circle — and who proved that the best bottle from Priorat is the one that needs no explanation, only a glass, a meal, and the patience to let the llicorella speak.
"There is no better place to taste wine than in the vineyard."
— Jordi Fernandez