Juvé y Camps

If today the famous Spanish sparkling wine, Cava, is mentioned in the same breath as the most famous "sparkling wine" in the world, Champagne, then this is also and especially due to a great and legendary name - Juve Y Camps. Founded in 1796, the house can look back on over 200 years of history in Penedes viticulture and is therefore one of the pioneers of cava. A milestone was reached in 1921, when various wineries, which in turn cultivate the vineyards at different altitudes in the Penedes, joined forces. This allows access to the best terroirs for the individualistic grape varieties, but also to a varied selection of base wines, which are then used in the different cuvées. With a good 200 hectares, the largest estate is located in Espiells. As with Champagne, the grapes are carefully harvested by hand so that they arrive at the wineries as intact as possible. Between 2010 and 2015, the entire vineyard estate was converted to organic viticulture to protect nature and the vines, some of which are very old. The cavas are mostly marketed as Brut or unfined Brut Nature, which speaks for the very high quality of the base wines. The cuvées mainly contain the indigenous grape varieties Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada, possibly with a small addition of Chardonnay. Unlike rosé Champagne, which is usually blended from white and red wine, the rosé from Juve y Camps is a 100% Pinot Noir. The house's showpiece is the Brut Nature "La Capella" with vintage, which is produced exclusively from the Xarel-Lo variety and only leaves the house after a maturation period of 108 months (!). And it can certainly compete with the really great Champagnes.