Gramona ‘La Cuvee’ Corpinnat Brut Blanc 2019
Location: Spain, Catalonia
Winemaker: Jaume Gramona
Grapes: Xarel.lo, Macabeo, Parellada
Soil: clay limestone
Winemaking: whole cluster pressing, fermented in tank; aged 6 months in tank, second fermentation in bottle, on lees minimum 30 months. Dosage around 6g/L
From the Importer European Cellars: ‘La Cuvee’ from Gramona is sourced from 3 growers/members of Aliances per la Terra, an organization established to promote organic and biodynamic farming in the Penedès. Currently, all these growers are certified organic, 12 certified biodynamic. The most ‘youthful’ of the sparkling wines released by Gramona, La Cuvee is a blend of 45% Xarel.lo, 45% Macabeu, and 10% Parellada from a total of 11 hectares of vineyards. It is aged for a minimum of 30 months sur lattes and finished with a dosage of between 4-6 g/L before release.
The Gramona family traces their history as grape growers and winemakers back to 1850 when Josep Batlle managed the vineyard of La Plana for a local family. His son Pau, who was active in the wine cork trade was uniquely positioned to begin selling the wines made from La Plana to sparkling wine producers in France who were at the time suffering from the ravages of phylloxera. By 1881 Pau was in the position to purchase the vineyard of La Plana and to establish Celler Batlle. It was at this time that Pau realized that Xarel.lo, the indigenous grape to this part of Catalunya, was instrumental in his success selling wines to France due to its inability to make well-aged sparkling wines. Pau’s daughter Pilar married Bartolomé Gramona and together they continued to expand their vineyards and sparkling wine business and in 1921 ‘Gramona Cava Champagne’ first began to appear on their bottles of sparkling wine. By 1945, Pilar and Bartolomé’s sons, Bartomeu and Josep Lluis, took over the management of Gramona and began to elaborate the cuvées that the estate is known for today. III Lustros was first conceived in 1951 but wouldn’t be released until 1961 after nearly ten years of aging sur latte. The early belief of Pau Batlle, that Xarel.lo was on par with the great grapes of Champagne in their capacity to age gracefully sur latte, was proven by his grandsons.
Today the sons of Bartomeu and Josep Lluis, Xavier and Jaume Gramona manage the operations at Gramona. Each generation has brought something new to the estate with Xavier expanding the scientific understanding of lees aging and the inherent properties of Xarel.lo while Jaume has pursued the conversion of all their vineyards—owned and leased—to organic farming as well as converting the family’s vineyards to biodynamic farming as well.
The wines made at Gramona are sourced from up to 303 hectares of vineyards that are farmed at least organically as well as the family’s 72 hectares of vines that are farmed biodynamically. The soils in the Alt Penedès, where Gramona is situated, are primarily clay limestone. Close to the Anoia river they become more alluvial and near the looming Montserrat mountain there are areas of slate. Their top sites: La Plana, Font Jui, Mas Escorpí, and La Solana, are all located close to Celler Batlle where the wines are made and aged. These sites are also distinguished by calcite formations known as têtes de poupées which slowly break down in the soils releasing minerals. Whether it is these unique soils, their location and a gentle rise between the Anoia to the north and several natural springs to the south, or the diversity of the massale selections of Xarel.lo and Macabeu found in these sites that makes Gramona’s best sparkling wines so unique could be debated. Combined with the generations of labor and talent the Gramona family has devoted to these vineyards is the bedrock on which their reputation has been established.
At Gramona time is never an issue. The wines receive perhaps the longest average aging than any other sparkling wines in Spain and are never released until they are perfectly mature. Eighty-six percent of the sparkling wines produced in Spain are released after only 9 months while at Gramona theirs are aged a minimum of 30 months, and in the case of Enoteca, for 15-17 years!
Long considered a pioneer for their work in the cellar and releasing sparkling wines only after extended aging, Gramona now farms their estate organically and biodynamically, with certifications from the Consell Català de la Producció Agraria y Ecològica and DEMETER. They are also taking steps to promote sustainability in their production by reducing their carbon footprint—using geothermic energy and recycling all the water used at the estate. With the grapes they source from neighbors, they have formed Alianzas por la Terra, an organization that is actively promoting a change to certified organic viticulture combined with biodynamic principles to bring life back to the soils in the region and encourage biodiversity in the zone.
In 2017 Gramona received Paraje status for their vineyards clustered around Font de Jui, a spring located in the heart of their domaine. After years of frustration and struggle to improve the reputation of Cava, they withdrew from the DO in 2019 becoming founding members of Corpinnat.
Location: Spain, Catalonia
Winemaker: Jaume Gramona
Grapes: Xarel.lo, Macabeo, Parellada
Soil: clay limestone
Winemaking: whole cluster pressing, fermented in tank; aged 6 months in tank, second fermentation in bottle, on lees minimum 30 months. Dosage around 6g/L
From the Importer European Cellars: ‘La Cuvee’ from Gramona is sourced from 3 growers/members of Aliances per la Terra, an organization established to promote organic and biodynamic farming in the Penedès. Currently, all these growers are certified organic, 12 certified biodynamic. The most ‘youthful’ of the sparkling wines released by Gramona, La Cuvee is a blend of 45% Xarel.lo, 45% Macabeu, and 10% Parellada from a total of 11 hectares of vineyards. It is aged for a minimum of 30 months sur lattes and finished with a dosage of between 4-6 g/L before release.
The Gramona family traces their history as grape growers and winemakers back to 1850 when Josep Batlle managed the vineyard of La Plana for a local family. His son Pau, who was active in the wine cork trade was uniquely positioned to begin selling the wines made from La Plana to sparkling wine producers in France who were at the time suffering from the ravages of phylloxera. By 1881 Pau was in the position to purchase the vineyard of La Plana and to establish Celler Batlle. It was at this time that Pau realized that Xarel.lo, the indigenous grape to this part of Catalunya, was instrumental in his success selling wines to France due to its inability to make well-aged sparkling wines. Pau’s daughter Pilar married Bartolomé Gramona and together they continued to expand their vineyards and sparkling wine business and in 1921 ‘Gramona Cava Champagne’ first began to appear on their bottles of sparkling wine. By 1945, Pilar and Bartolomé’s sons, Bartomeu and Josep Lluis, took over the management of Gramona and began to elaborate the cuvées that the estate is known for today. III Lustros was first conceived in 1951 but wouldn’t be released until 1961 after nearly ten years of aging sur latte. The early belief of Pau Batlle, that Xarel.lo was on par with the great grapes of Champagne in their capacity to age gracefully sur latte, was proven by his grandsons.
Today the sons of Bartomeu and Josep Lluis, Xavier and Jaume Gramona manage the operations at Gramona. Each generation has brought something new to the estate with Xavier expanding the scientific understanding of lees aging and the inherent properties of Xarel.lo while Jaume has pursued the conversion of all their vineyards—owned and leased—to organic farming as well as converting the family’s vineyards to biodynamic farming as well.
The wines made at Gramona are sourced from up to 303 hectares of vineyards that are farmed at least organically as well as the family’s 72 hectares of vines that are farmed biodynamically. The soils in the Alt Penedès, where Gramona is situated, are primarily clay limestone. Close to the Anoia river they become more alluvial and near the looming Montserrat mountain there are areas of slate. Their top sites: La Plana, Font Jui, Mas Escorpí, and La Solana, are all located close to Celler Batlle where the wines are made and aged. These sites are also distinguished by calcite formations known as têtes de poupées which slowly break down in the soils releasing minerals. Whether it is these unique soils, their location and a gentle rise between the Anoia to the north and several natural springs to the south, or the diversity of the massale selections of Xarel.lo and Macabeu found in these sites that makes Gramona’s best sparkling wines so unique could be debated. Combined with the generations of labor and talent the Gramona family has devoted to these vineyards is the bedrock on which their reputation has been established.
At Gramona time is never an issue. The wines receive perhaps the longest average aging than any other sparkling wines in Spain and are never released until they are perfectly mature. Eighty-six percent of the sparkling wines produced in Spain are released after only 9 months while at Gramona theirs are aged a minimum of 30 months, and in the case of Enoteca, for 15-17 years!
Long considered a pioneer for their work in the cellar and releasing sparkling wines only after extended aging, Gramona now farms their estate organically and biodynamically, with certifications from the Consell Català de la Producció Agraria y Ecològica and DEMETER. They are also taking steps to promote sustainability in their production by reducing their carbon footprint—using geothermic energy and recycling all the water used at the estate. With the grapes they source from neighbors, they have formed Alianzas por la Terra, an organization that is actively promoting a change to certified organic viticulture combined with biodynamic principles to bring life back to the soils in the region and encourage biodiversity in the zone.
In 2017 Gramona received Paraje status for their vineyards clustered around Font de Jui, a spring located in the heart of their domaine. After years of frustration and struggle to improve the reputation of Cava, they withdrew from the DO in 2019 becoming founding members of Corpinnat.
Location: Spain, Catalonia
Winemaker: Jaume Gramona
Grapes: Xarel.lo, Macabeo, Parellada
Soil: clay limestone
Winemaking: whole cluster pressing, fermented in tank; aged 6 months in tank, second fermentation in bottle, on lees minimum 30 months. Dosage around 6g/L
From the Importer European Cellars: ‘La Cuvee’ from Gramona is sourced from 3 growers/members of Aliances per la Terra, an organization established to promote organic and biodynamic farming in the Penedès. Currently, all these growers are certified organic, 12 certified biodynamic. The most ‘youthful’ of the sparkling wines released by Gramona, La Cuvee is a blend of 45% Xarel.lo, 45% Macabeu, and 10% Parellada from a total of 11 hectares of vineyards. It is aged for a minimum of 30 months sur lattes and finished with a dosage of between 4-6 g/L before release.
The Gramona family traces their history as grape growers and winemakers back to 1850 when Josep Batlle managed the vineyard of La Plana for a local family. His son Pau, who was active in the wine cork trade was uniquely positioned to begin selling the wines made from La Plana to sparkling wine producers in France who were at the time suffering from the ravages of phylloxera. By 1881 Pau was in the position to purchase the vineyard of La Plana and to establish Celler Batlle. It was at this time that Pau realized that Xarel.lo, the indigenous grape to this part of Catalunya, was instrumental in his success selling wines to France due to its inability to make well-aged sparkling wines. Pau’s daughter Pilar married Bartolomé Gramona and together they continued to expand their vineyards and sparkling wine business and in 1921 ‘Gramona Cava Champagne’ first began to appear on their bottles of sparkling wine. By 1945, Pilar and Bartolomé’s sons, Bartomeu and Josep Lluis, took over the management of Gramona and began to elaborate the cuvées that the estate is known for today. III Lustros was first conceived in 1951 but wouldn’t be released until 1961 after nearly ten years of aging sur latte. The early belief of Pau Batlle, that Xarel.lo was on par with the great grapes of Champagne in their capacity to age gracefully sur latte, was proven by his grandsons.
Today the sons of Bartomeu and Josep Lluis, Xavier and Jaume Gramona manage the operations at Gramona. Each generation has brought something new to the estate with Xavier expanding the scientific understanding of lees aging and the inherent properties of Xarel.lo while Jaume has pursued the conversion of all their vineyards—owned and leased—to organic farming as well as converting the family’s vineyards to biodynamic farming as well.
The wines made at Gramona are sourced from up to 303 hectares of vineyards that are farmed at least organically as well as the family’s 72 hectares of vines that are farmed biodynamically. The soils in the Alt Penedès, where Gramona is situated, are primarily clay limestone. Close to the Anoia river they become more alluvial and near the looming Montserrat mountain there are areas of slate. Their top sites: La Plana, Font Jui, Mas Escorpí, and La Solana, are all located close to Celler Batlle where the wines are made and aged. These sites are also distinguished by calcite formations known as têtes de poupées which slowly break down in the soils releasing minerals. Whether it is these unique soils, their location and a gentle rise between the Anoia to the north and several natural springs to the south, or the diversity of the massale selections of Xarel.lo and Macabeu found in these sites that makes Gramona’s best sparkling wines so unique could be debated. Combined with the generations of labor and talent the Gramona family has devoted to these vineyards is the bedrock on which their reputation has been established.
At Gramona time is never an issue. The wines receive perhaps the longest average aging than any other sparkling wines in Spain and are never released until they are perfectly mature. Eighty-six percent of the sparkling wines produced in Spain are released after only 9 months while at Gramona theirs are aged a minimum of 30 months, and in the case of Enoteca, for 15-17 years!
Long considered a pioneer for their work in the cellar and releasing sparkling wines only after extended aging, Gramona now farms their estate organically and biodynamically, with certifications from the Consell Català de la Producció Agraria y Ecològica and DEMETER. They are also taking steps to promote sustainability in their production by reducing their carbon footprint—using geothermic energy and recycling all the water used at the estate. With the grapes they source from neighbors, they have formed Alianzas por la Terra, an organization that is actively promoting a change to certified organic viticulture combined with biodynamic principles to bring life back to the soils in the region and encourage biodiversity in the zone.
In 2017 Gramona received Paraje status for their vineyards clustered around Font de Jui, a spring located in the heart of their domaine. After years of frustration and struggle to improve the reputation of Cava, they withdrew from the DO in 2019 becoming founding members of Corpinnat.