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SPAIN
– DESIGNATION –
An aerial view of the Paraje Calificado of Vallcirera
ALTA ALELLA – A GAME-CHANGER
This winery, located to the North of the city of Barcelona,
is distinctive in that it lies next to the Mediterranean. It is
a personal project of the Pujol-Busquets Guillén family,
which began with Josep Maria and Cristina and continues
with their daughters Mireia and Georgina, who have been
intensely involved in growing wine and Cava since they
were children. For some 30 years now they have been
farming organically, and the results are very satisfactory.
They are quite rightly proud of their products, especially
two of them, both of which come from a designated
vineyard site (Paraje Calificado), Vallcirera: Alta Alella
10, a new release, whose first vintage was launched in
2021. This Cava is matured for 10 years and is elegant
with great ageing capacity. The other is Mirgin Opus: a
limited edition Cava that, like the previous example, also
has a long ageing period, in this case 36 months, before
being released for sale. Both are the winery’s superpremium
Cavas.
Regarding the changes to appellation rules, Mireia claims
that “these changes were absolutely necessary. We have
been talking about zoning for some time now, and
we needed an identity that was more specific to each
zone. Our Cavas already have their own identity, but
the consumer will receive more information with these
changes and it will allow us to safeguard our product
better”. The winery supports the idea that in order to
sell your products, you have to be able to tell a story,
something that the changes will not alter. What it does
feel, though, is that they “provide us with new tools, so
we will be able to talk more specifically about our origins.
Defending our terroir in a more concrete way makes us
more unique”.
The new winery at Clos Montblanc
CLOS MONTBLANC – THE CU4TRO PROJECT
Clos Montblanc is a winery located in Barberá de la
Conca, in Tarragona. At domestic level, its still wines and
Cavas are very well known, but it also nurtures a project
designed for exports: Cu4tro Project. The project, which
has been ongoing for some years now, has been very
well received outside Spain, with Japan and South Korea,
together with the United States, being the main export
markets. Brazil, however, stands out above the rest, along
76 WINTER 2021 GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE