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Castellroig wines from the Sabaté y Coca cellars are the first DO Penedes products to be marketed as “terroir wine”. These wines are fruit of selected vineyards on the Sabaté y Coca family estate .
Due to this initiative, Castellroig has made it possible to see, for the first time, the inscription “Vins de Terrer” - “Terroir wine” on wine labels from the denomination of origin Pendes . The French were the first to apply this concept to viticulture. A “terruño” in Spanish and , “terroir” in French , is an area with homogenous geological and geographical characteristics such as climate (temperature and rainfall), sunlight, topography (altitude, slope and aspect) and geology.
In order to produce these Terroir wines Marcel Sabate has painstakingly analyzed the land of the Castellroig estate and the different types of terroirs in his vineyards. His approach was to personalize the attention given to each vineyard depending on its peculiarities. His goal was to find the very essence of each grape, enhanced by the the soil it was planted on which he achieved by following the Terroir philosophy.
So as to elaborate these unique wines, Castellroig carefully considered which terroir was best suited for each wine. Castellroig terroir wines come from parcels of land on the estate that are vinified individually. This is one of the costliest tasks in the whole winemaking process due to the fact that the vineyards within each terroir are worked separately.
The estate Sabaté y Coca includes a total of 15 terroirs and each one of them gives a distinct quality to the fruit. The wines produced on this estate are the result of one or more terroirs. For instance, the Castellroig “Blanco Selección” originates from only one terroir, el Mosset - which has got a deep soil, evolved, with an average texture. On the other hand, the Castellroig Xarel.lo - which was awarded the Platinum Medal of this year - comes from different terroirs, Rigolet, Boja and Marges. These soils are moderately deep except for Marges which is deep and brings the youth and freshness which characterizes this wine.
What differentiates terroir wines is based on enhancing the qualities and individual characteristics of both the soil and the grape therefore cleverly improving the end result. Such being Castellroig philosophy, the main focus is to maintain the natural qualities of the fruit and the uniqueness of the ground. For this reason, Castellroig carries out a meticulous selection process of its grapes and nurtures the fruit until it reaches optimum maturity and is ready to be hand-picked. They are gently pressed and only the first must is used. To maintain the uniqueness of the grape from different terroirs, they go through a slow fermentation in small stainless steel tanks.
Since 2002, the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan Government) allows the Consejos Reguladores (the Regulating Councils) of the D.O.s to grant the name of “estate wine” or “terroir wine”. After 5 years, the Penedès D.O. achieves its first terroir wine and that’s Castellroig’s.
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