Recaredo
Recaredo is a Catalan winery in the Penedès that has produced exclusively Brut Nature since 1924 — sparkling wines without any dosage. Ton Mata, grandson of founder Josep Mata, farms 50 hectares of estate vineyards biodynamically; they lie on the right bank of the Bitlles river on distinctly calcareous soil. Bottle fermentation takes place under natural cork, with riddling and disgorgement done entirely by hand. In 2019 Ton Mata co-founded Corpinnat, a collective brand whose rules mandate estate-grown grapes, hand harvesting, native grape varieties, and at least 18 months of lees ageing. The top of the range ages far beyond that: the Turó d'en Mota, from a plot planted in 1940, spends more than twelve years on the lees.
Josep Mata, Ton Mata and the year 1924
Josep Mata began producing Cava in the Penedès in 1924, naming the winery after his father, Recaredo Mata. Ever since, Recaredo has bottled its sparkling wines without dosage. Ton Mata, grandson of the founder, now runs the estate and holds to the practices of its founding years: riddling is done by hand, bottle by bottle, and disgorgement likewise by hand, without freezing the neck of the bottle. For all of its bottle fermentation, Recaredo uses natural cork.
Limestone on the right bank of the Bitlles
The 50 hectares lie in the Alta Penedès, the higher part of the appellation, within the hilly landscape of the coster del Bitlles. The soil is strongly calcareous, with white stones scattered between the vine rows. Ton Mata farms the vineyards biodynamically, and after several years of drought the vines largely regulate themselves and come through difficult periods on their own. The single vineyard Serral del Vell lies at 255 to 280 metres below the Montserrat massif, which shelters the plot and gives it a cooler microclimate; the wine from it is 85 percent Xarel·lo and 15 percent Macabeu.
Turó d'en Mota, planted in 1940
The Turó d'en Mota covers 0.97 hectares at the edge of the forest, planted with Xarel·lo in 1940, on extremely calcareous soil poor in organic matter. The north-facing slope and its shaded areas yield grapes with high acidity. In 1999 Recaredo released from it the first single-vineyard Cava in history; the wine ages for at least 150 months on the lees in the cool cellars. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate scored it 95.5 points. From the archive comes the Enoteca series of historic vintages, some of whose wines have spent twenty years or more on the lees.
Corpinnat, since January 2019
In January 2019 Ton Mata left the Denominación de Origen Cava and co-founded Corpinnat, a collective brand with strict rules on origin, harvesting, grape varieties, and lees ageing. Ton Mata became co-president; the brand now numbers 16 wineries.
The range begins with the Subtil, aged 36 months on the lees. The Relats de Viticultors blends Xarel·lo, Parellada and Macabeu from the estate's own vineyards and from partner growers in the Penedès who share the same approach to viticulture and winemaking; yields on these dry sites remain low, and the wine ages for 18 months. The Intens Rosat is 88 percent Monastrell and 12 percent Garnatxa Negra and spends at least thirty months on the lees, the Reserva Particular at least sixty. Terrers brings together Xarel·lo and Parellada, while the two Bufadors, Vinya del Rascarà and Les Voranes, are bottled without added sulphur. None of these wines receives any dosage.