Can Descregut, Corpinnat and The New Catalan Sparkling

Similar to the steadily increasing influence of smaller, grower Champagne producers over the past 20 years, the best producers in Catalunya’s Penedès region have been leading by example and through their own organizational efforts to not only distinguish themselves from the largest cava houses, but also to further differentiate each other from the D.O. and brand of Cava. Raventós i Blanc announcing and publicizing their exit from D.O. Cava was perhaps the most dramatic and visible sign of change in the region. Of course the creation of Classic Penedès for quality conscious, organic producers was another notable development. Finally, the fact that two of the most successful and historic cava houses in Recaredo and Gramona left the D.O. to lead the creation of Corpinnat was yet another indicator that most wineries who are serious about producing top quality sparkling wine in the Penedès region will not do so with the D.O. Cava appearing on their labels, but instead D.O. Classic Penedès or Corpinnat.

Marc Mila and Arantxa de Cara’s Can Descregut is one of the ten producers in Corpinnat. I remember talking to Marc, in fact, when he was considering leaving D.O. Cava.

“What do you think,” he wondered aloud, “is it too big a risk?”

“I think you should do it,” I told him. “Even if consumers recognize what cava is and do not yet recognize Corpinnat. Corpinnat is the future.”

In other words, you cannot change the narrative with the same old Cava label. There are a few notable Penedès producers who make sparkling wine that is qualitatively amongst the world’s best. They tend to be following current trend lines as well: organic or biodynamic production in the vineyards, producing better quality, riper grapes, which allow for more expressive wines without any dosage. Single vintage and single parcel wines at the high end of the range, with stylish, dry to bone dry yet expressive and distinctive wines as the volume drivers.

I say “volume” though Can Descregut produces only a few thousand cases of sparkling wine per year, minuscule by Cava standards. They do so entirely from their own 22 hectares of organically cultivated vines, spread across the municipalities of Vilobí del Penedès, Pacs del Penedés and Font Rubí. These are vineyards that lie nearly in the middle of the valley lying between the Catalan coastal and pre-coastal ranges. The predominately clay soil here is on the deeper side, and most parcels contain a high proportion of gypsum, which had once been mined in the region. Marc believes that this calcareous mineral lends a saline aspect to his Corpinnat as well as their table wines.

Speaking of table wines, Can Descregut produces a full range featuring a wonderfully rich, yet strikingly bright old vine Xarel-lo aged in barrel, amphora aged Macabeu, chestnut aged Sumoll, Xarel-lo Vermell, the red variant of Xarel-lo for which Arantxa and Marc played a pivotal role in rescuing and propagating before it became more popular as it is today.

Back to the sparkling wine, the Corpinnat. It is certified organic, ages 26 months sur-lattes, has zero dosage, and shows bottling/ disgorgement dates on the back label. It is fantastic: some zip, some grip, a bit of salt, and much more volume and expression than you may be used to tasting in bubbles at this price. Yes, the grapes are what matters most, but we should not forget the cellar. Arantxa combines her oenological training with her desire to lay off of the sorts of heavy handed techniques favored in the majority of sparkling wine production (aggressive filtration, standard SO2 additions, mechanical cold stabilization). Instead, she seeks a more expressive wine, using very gentle, open pore filtration, natural (not mechanical) cold stabilization, and no SO2 addition until after fermentation, and only in small amounts.

We are excited to work with Marc and Arantxa in their efforts to grow their family business, to farm organically (with some biodynamic treatments and a whole lot of care) and to shout from the rooftops (or at least from the squarespace, the instagram, the zoom, the email..) that Corpinnat sparkling wine is seriously delicious and worthy of all of our attention - and wine glasses.