Vins El Cep was born from the union of four winegrowing families and four estates. Since 1980, they have been producing distinctive, high-quality wines and cavas that express their terroirs. Located in els Costers de l’Anoia, at Can Llopart de les Alzines, they are pioneers in organic and biodynamic viticulture.
They strive to achieve the perfect balance between respect for nature and high quality in the winery. The vineyards are their heritage; the roots, their landscape.
Technical Sheet
Winery: Estate vineyards in Sant Sadurní de Noia (Barcelona), harvested by hand.
D.O. Penedés
Vintage: 2015
Alcohol: 12%
Varieties: 43% Xarel·lo 33% Macabeu 24% Parellada
Tasting note: A fine, persistent stream of bubbles. Delicate aromas. Very clean and fresh, with fruity notes of apple, toasted almond and subtle mineral nuances. Very fine, elegant and complex on the palate. The mouthfeel ends with a persistent finish.
Serving temperature: 6-8ºC
Production: The grapes for this Cava come from the terroirs of the Paraje de Can Prats, located on the slopes of the Anoia River. These 4 hectares of biodynamic farming yield grapes with optimal ripeness and acidity. Xarel·lo from Can Prats: Year planted: 1960. Macabeo and Parellada from Can Miquel de les Planes: Years planted: 1947 and 1969. Training system: old bush vines. Moderately deep, carbonate-rich soils, predominantly silty loam in texture, well structured, porous, and with frequent fauna activity. These soils are very well suited to viticulture and allow the varietal character of the vines to be fully expressed. Southwest exposure. Budbreak occurred 15 days later than usual. The season was very dry and especially warm in July, which brought grape ripening forward. This resulted in a very healthy harvest with very balanced acidity. Harvesting is manual. Fast, gravity-fed reception at the winery. Low-pressure pressing with extraction of 50% free-run must. Each variety is fermented in small tanks at controlled temperature, with native yeasts. 12% of the base wine is aged in barrel for 2 months. Aged for more than 40 months.
Pairing: shellfish, fish.
At Made in Spain Gourmet, we believe it is excellent with Mediterranean rice dishes such as those from Dehesa de la Albufera (seafood paellas, soupy rice dishes) and fresh pasta with sautéed vegetables or boletus sauces.
Vins el Cep is a sustainable, responsible and efficient winery.
They work day after day to fulfil their commitment to the landscape. They work sustainably using renewable energy, showing the utmost respect for the environment in both the vineyard and the winery.
They strive to improve water management, waste reduction and energy efficiency, and invest so that everything can run on photovoltaic energy.
Their Path
The Carreras, Esteve, Masana and Parera families had centuries of experience, with deep-rooted agricultural traditions and a heritage of winemaking on their farmhouses. Thus, in 1980, they began a joint project to produce wines and cavas that represent the identity of their terroirs.
Can Llopart de les Alzines, an estate dating back to 1499 and surrounded by vineyards, was chosen as the site for their winery.
The soul of their project was—and always will be—those four friends and neighbors who ended up becoming partners: Gil Masana, Josep Carreras, Pere Parera and Josep Esteve. Guided by vocation, knowledge and love for the land, they have brought it to where it is today.
Biodynamic: Pioneers and True Believers
Throughout their history, each generation has contributed its own grain of sand, its advances, but also the wisdom to observe and reflect. The experience gained from this direct contact with the land led them, in 2000, to steer their agriculture toward organic farming.
Soon after, driven by the desire to keep improving at every level, they decided to go one step further and apply biodynamic agriculture. Although at that time it was a rather unknown type of farming in their country, the results spoke for themselves, and they decided to embrace it. And they will continue to do so.
Vins El Cep was born and has grown in this landscape of vineyards and forests that instill character. They love their land and therefore care for it, listen to it and try to understand it in order to act, because they know that everything begins here, in the soil, in the vines, in the plants and animals that live together in the same ecosystem, understand one another and establish a natural balance.
Observation, effort and conviction have led them, from 2003 to the present day, to continue working in this direction, striving to achieve the perfect balance between respect for nature and high quality in the winery. Their cava Claror, the world’s first biodynamic cava, is an example of their work.
It is well known that the path of wine begins in the vineyard. The personality, the feeling and the expression of their wines only make sense if the vineyard becomes more alive every day. The vineyards are their heritage; the roots, their landscape.
Terroirs and Sites
Thousands of years ago, these lands formed part of the seabed, and in fact vines were already growing here more than 500 years ago.
Their vineyards are, for the most part, old vines located in Costers de l’Anoia and spread between the municipalities of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, Gelida and Sant Llorenç. These are vineyards with a marked character, the quality needed to obtain their terroir-driven wines.
The grapes grow on gently rolling slopes, crossed by deep streams and shaped by a typically Mediterranean climate: moderately hot, dry summers, mild winters and irregular rainfall. Alongside native varieties, which occupy a large part of their vineyards—such as Macabeo, Xarel·lo, Parellada and Tempranillo—other varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Syrah allow them to find balance in their blends.
The moderately deep roots grip a clay-silty loam soil, well structured, porous and active in terms of fauna. Thanks to the organic and biodynamic farming they practice, ants, worms and all kinds of organisms live and develop there, fostering the necessary natural balance.
Commitment
They are a sustainable, responsible and efficient winery.
They work day after day to fulfil their commitment to the landscape. They work sustainably with renewable energies, showing the utmost respect for the environment in the vineyard and in the winery.
They strive to improve water management, waste reduction and energy efficiency. They invest in operating with photovoltaic energy.
They are what you see.
Winemaking
Experience and Passion
Two generations combine experience and tradition with passion and new ideas. Strict control, technology and the right blend are the key to the success of their wines and cavas.
Vinification
The winery’s location, next to its vineyards, means the grapes arrive in the best possible condition. These grapes are pressed gently to extract the noblest fraction of the must, a maximum of 50%, guaranteeing the highest quality of their wines. In small tanks, and under strict control during fermentation, each variety is vinified separately according to the vineyard it comes from, in order to personalize each of the wines they will obtain.
Ageing
Inside the cellars, protected from light, with constant humidity and low temperatures, their bottles rest. Only under these optimal conditions and with long ageing is it possible, year after year, to transform grapes into an exceptional cava. Long ageing contributes bouquet complexity, finesse and the integration of the bubbles in their reserva and gran reserva cavas.
Tirage
During the first months of the year, when temperatures are lower, they bottle their wines and cavas. Under these conditions, a slow fermentation takes place in the bottle to obtain the finest aromas and delicate bubbles, which will come together to begin the long ageing process. Selected yeasts give complexity and character to their cavas.