The un-Cava, Cava

Checking what's under the hood in bubble land

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As shown in the report on the Corpinnat sparkling wines, there’s no debate as to the solid momentum behind this association. What started as a group of six ‘rogue’ high-quality sparkling winemakers abandoning the Denomination of Origin Cava has turned into a serious bubbly force to be reckoned with.

I feel like the larger question being asked now isn’t, “Why would someone leave DO Cava?” and much more, “Why wouldn’t someone join Corpinnat?”

While it may seem a rather obvious direction to take, there are vast and varied barriers to join, all of which revolve around why Corpinnat was created in the first place.

There are many wineries within DO Cava who aren’t producing their own wines and are in fact buying in bottled-wines from others within the region–a perfectly legal thing to do, but it says nothing about one’s ‘estate’. There are also those who aren’t farming organically which is a core tenet to be amongst the ranks of Corpinnat.

Then there are those (such as the recently de-Cava-ed, en-Corpinatt-ed Juvé & Camps) who may do everything else according to the rules of Corpinnat but use a significant amount of French varieties. The main culprits in this particular issue are Pinot Noir and Chardonnay which exist due to sparkling producers in Spain wanting to emulate the grapes used in Champagne. All of these foreign grape varieties are to be completely phased out from Corpinnat production by 2035. I suspect most wineries in the association will arrive to this point much earlier if they haven’t already.

There is however yet another reason that a winery would continue under the auspices of DO Cava and we see that with Art Laietà, previously known as Alta Alella.

Their issue is one with no workaround: geography. Situated about 20 minutes north of Barcelona, they are only one of two wineries in Catalunya with a direct view to the sea and, having been to the winery several times, I can attest to it being a hell of a view. They’re wise to this and have constructed the winery and tasting room to take it all in, making it a must-visit destination if wanting a day out of Barcelona.

But it’s this sea view which actually makes them unable to ever join Corpinnat. Within DO Cava, this is a subzone under the Comtats de Barcelona zone called, Serra de Mar or “sea mountains”. DO Cava allows for all these pockets across Spain which is one of the large aspects of its undoing given that it’s a denomination of origin for a style of winemaking and not an actual point of origin such as say, Burgundy or Rioja. As others before me have argued, it shouldn’t really exist as per the European Union definition of what a DO is, but it does and here we are, at least for the time being?

Art Laietà has long-been one of the gleaming producers of sparkling wine within the current landscape of DO Cava. They meet all the requisites of Corpinnat, but are unfortunately outside the strictly-defined zone of the association and this isn’t going to change, even though they have an enviable soil which is sauló. This is a decomposed granitic sand that’s lovely for producing elegant grapes that make delicate, powdery, effortless wines to drink just as much for red wines of Grenache as for white wines that go into long-aged sparkling wines such as theirs.

I’ve been following their wines for well over a decade now and they’ve always been committed to quality. So much so that the broader, negociant label they’d been running called, ‘Privat’, they sold to the very large winery group, Perelada back in 2017. They also sold their stake in the DOQ Priorat winery, Mas Igneus, all in the name of focusing on the core territory in Alella where they currently hold 68ha of vines and will jump up to 80 in two year’s time. Yes, while everyone else is scaling back, they’re still able to grow.

I won’t lie, I’m often a bit perplexed as to the entire line up of wines as they span a number of segments and aging lengths. As far as I can’t reckon, everything is in the “Cava de Guarda Superior” realm which means a minimum of 18 months and many wines see much much more. This magic number happens to also be the base aging for all Corpinnat, so yet another point they meet, if only they were about 40km southwest of where they are.

Within this long list of wines they produce is the “Gran Reserva” from 2021. Like most of their sparkling wines, it comes in this elongated bottle that, once you see it, you know it’s theirs. It doesn’t fit in a normal wine fridge and some vintages have seen very sticky corks, but it’s very pleasing aesthetically and different from the standard bottle of bubbles. Plus it comes in a fun cardboard tube which the kids and/or cat can play with while you’re enjoying the wine. I can think of few wines that come with secondary entertainment options.

But what a wonderful wine it is. Light and delicate and with just enjoy development on the palate to give some weight and texture to make you stand up and take notice. In case that wasn’t enough, they’ve somehow manage to price this organically-farmed, long-aged, boutique winery sparkling wine at a mere 21.50€ retail.

Art Laietà continues to be a great project, producing excellent wines and while they may officially be under DO Cava for reasons of convenience and branding, they’re one of the least-Cava Cavas there is in the bumpy landscape of what Cava has become.

Gran Reserva 2021 - Yellow pear and light toffee notes along with dried citrus pith and slightly nutty notes on top of brioche. Nicely poised on the palate with ample development and complexity leading into the finish. Wonderful, even at twice 21.50€ retail price.