Our winesare designed on land to evolve beneath the sea in the best possible way, where they are TREASURE-AGED.

Wines can be aged or matured through countless methods. There are different winemaking approaches, with excellent results. One example of innovation that is creating a new trend in winemakingis the case of underwater treasure ageing, the name given to the process of making wine beneath the Cantábrico Sea, developed by Bodega Crusoe Treasure as a result of the LSEB Plentzia (Underwater Beverage Ageing Laboratory) project.

Wine and the sea

The sea and wine have been linked throughout history for thousands of years. From their earliest voyages, sailors carried food for their survival and goods for trade aboard their ships. Many of these foods were transported in amphorae and all kinds of containers. Wheat, grain and all kinds of spices later gave way to the trade in oil and wine. Throughout history, this has remained a constant reality, and thousands of ships have ended their days on the ocean floor. The recovery of these wines submerged at sea has prompted all kinds of speculation about their evolution and their oenological, economic and historical value.

 Underwater treasure ageing

Underwater treasure ageing is the term for the process of making wine and other alcoholic beverages created and designed by Bodega Crusoe Treasure, which has been carried out for years and originated from the studies conducted by LSEB Plentzia. A process born and refined through years of research, through which we have learned how to design wine on land, controlling a specific set of parameters, among other factors, in order to achieve the wine’s fullest evolutionary expression  beneath the sea. Underwater treasure ageing has a father and leading figure in the world of oenology: the renowned winemaker and Doctor of Oenology Antonio T. Palacios, winemaker at Crusoe Treasure since its foundation.

The distinctive factors of our underwater treasure-ageing process during its marine phase are:

– Temperature. Our wines are subject to continuous, subtle temperature changes, never exceeding 19 ºC or falling below 12 ºC. The Cantábrico Sea and Plentzia–Gorliz Bay, where we are located, are ideal settings for this process.

– Pressure. The wines are subjected to a pressure of 3 bar (3 atm). Over time, a pressure differential develops between the inside and outside of the bottle. This causes the partial pressure of oxygen inside the bottle to change, becoming greater inside than outside (yes, it is incredible, but true). The tides and the moon play a fundamental role, naturally and continuously altering the pressure on the wine bottles Crusoe Treasure. Combined with lower gravity, this gives rise to our singular process.

– Movement. Subjected to the constant rocking of currents, tides and waves, our wines never rest: they sway and evolve to the steady rhythm of the currents, tides and storms of the Cantábrico Sea.

– Lower gravity. Underwater, the weight of any object is reduced. The same applies to liquids: they weigh less. Combined with the constant swaying produced by the Cantábrico Sea (strong tides every six hours, continuous waves and winter storms), this causes the structure of the wine to change for the better, according to our winemakers.

– Tides. Every six hours, the sea rises or falls around our artificial reef winery by up to 4 metres, continuously, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We can speak of the most extreme biodynamics to date: constant changes in light, movement, pressure and temperature produced by nature itself, without any human intervention.

These are some of the factors that determine what our “vintages” will be like beneath the sea, but there are more, and we continue learning every day—not only at sea, but on land as well.

How we make wine on land, and the process of treasure-ageing the wine in the artificial reef winery, will determine the personality of each of our wines.

We were pioneers, perhaps even reckless, but there is no doubt that the underwater treasure ageing designed by Crusoe Treasure is a reality and has a positive effect on the evolution of wines, achieving the wine’s fullest evolutionary expression. Thousands of customers and experts around the world attest to this. At Bodega Crusoe Treasure  nothing is left to chance; it is a controlled process within an uncontrollable environment, the result of years of research and under the oenological direction of our winemaker Antonio T. Palacios.

Now that you know more, which wine treasure-aged beneath the sea would you like to taste?