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International Fine Wines
International Fine Wines
International Fine Wines
International Fine Wines

Recaredo

Scintillating, Grower Champagne-Quality Sparkling from Alt Penedès

Recaredo rightly holds a formidable reputation as Spain’s greatest producer of sparkling wines. The domaine’s origins date back to 1924 when Josep Mata Capellades, a professional disgorger, decided to build a cellar under his house and cultivate his own vineyard in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, a village in the heart of Catalonia’s Alt Penedés region. He called his new winery Recaredo after his father, Recaredo Mata Figueres.

From humble beginnings, Mata grew his holdings while forging his distinctive style, pioneering the production of brut nature sparkling wines, using oak barrels and crafting long-aged sparkling wines with the Xarel·lo grape variety. Mata’s sons continued in their father’s footsteps, and today, it is his grandson, Ton Mata, who heads up the winery.

Under Ton’s direction, Recaredo has become a worldwide reference point for sparkling wine. Recaredo is a pioneer on many levels; not only was it the first producer in the Penedès region to be certified biodynamic (in 2010), but it uses exclusively estate-grown fruit, and all the grapes are picked by hand and vinified in its own cellars in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia.

Mata’s philosophy has long been about crafting wines of place rather than conforming to a particular style. For this reason, Recaredo left the sprawling Cava D.O. in 2018 to join Corpinnat, an organisation then comprising nine leading wineries in Alt Penedés. Inspired by Champagne’s Récoltant-Manipulant model, Corpinnat was established to distinguish the great sparkling wines made in the heart of Penedès, a region whose traditional-method sparkling wine history dates back to the end of the 19th century.

Corpinnat’s manifesto includes arguably the strictest guidelines overseeing any sparkling wine production in the world. This includes working with 100% organic grapes, harvesting by hand, minimum ageing requirements and vinification at the estate. Today, only 12 producers have met such rigorous obligations. Corpinnat is not an easy club to get into.

Recaredo’s vineyards are amongst the most immaculate and precisely tended we have visited. All the plots, of which there are many, lie within 25km of the cellars in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia in the Corpinnat territory—an area of mainly calcareous soils and hilly Mediterranean landscapes dominated by the Montserrat Mountains. The vineyards are dry-farmed and planted only with the region’s local varieties, notably Xarel·lo, which accounts for 60% of Recaredo’s production. Draught horses plough the top vineyards, and only organic fertilisers are applied when necessary.

Recaredo only makes vintage-dated wines. Yields are some of the lowest you will find in the world of sparkling wine: 40 hl/ha would not be a wild estimate over the past decade. Fermentation is triggered by vineyard yeasts originally isolated in 1999, and Mata still uses a large proportion of large oak barrels for fermentation—more so in the single-vineyard and long-aged labels. Unusually for the region, secondary fermentations occur without adding cane sugar. Instead, the secondary fermentation uses grape juice from the following vintage. Aging takes place under natural cork only, a homage to the family’s tradition and the terroir-driven house style.

All the wines spend at least 30 months on lees and up to 15 years or more in their cellars for the top cuvée. Then, all the riddling is done in-house, and the disgorgements―which take place without freezing―are done manually by a group of artisans who expel the lees. All this is to say, Recaredo’s practice in vineyard and cellar would not look out of place next to a very top grower Champagne outfit. As The Wine Advocate’s Luis Gutiérrez has written: “I’m not sure if there is any other sparkling wine producer in the world who works with such strict standards.”

Under Recaredo’s management, Xarel·lo has emerged as a faithful communicator of terroir and a variety that ages and improves in bottle like few others. This Catalan variety started as a red grape before mutating into a white variety. Perhaps for this reason, Xarel·lo is high in antioxidant and phenolic compounds—more than some red varieties—promoting its astonishing ageing potential while lending an attractive salty-bitter sensation to the wine’s finish.

Like all the world’s greatest fizz, these are, first and foremost, fine wines. “These are more than just sparkling wines—they are long-aged white wines,” says Ton Mata. “The bubbles must allow you to see the wine; they must not hide the wine.” When tasting in the context of a meal, these wines take on another level of complexity, evolving with air and taking you on a journey. It’s not very often you come by a sparkling wine producer where the quality and character of the wines match the greatest growers in Champagne. Yet that is precisely what you get with Recaredo.

Currently Available

Recaredo Corpinnat Serral del Vell Brut Nature 2018 (Disg. Nov 24)
$163.00
Added

Recaredo Corpinnat Serral del Vell Brut Nature 2018 (Disg. Nov 24)

Biodynamic. 85% Xarel·lo, 15% Macabeu. This striking single-vineyard wine takes its name from the sloping Serral del Vell estate overlooked by the Montserrat mountains. The soil of the Serral del Vell plateau contains calcareous lumps and quite a bit of limestone from the Serra del Mar and the Serra Catalana, which were deposited in the area due to erosion. From these lean, rocky soils and these mature vines (Xarel.lo planted in 1996 and 1997 and two plots of Macabeo planted in 1989) Recaredo is searching for the truest expression of the site’s most mineral soils (containing 33% active limestone). Only the Xarel·lo base wines are fermented in large-format oak. Recaredo prefers to use tanks for their Macabeu.

“I tasted again the 2018 Serral del Vell, but this time with one more year in bottle with lees. It has gained in complexity and nuance, and it's elegant, with an ethereal quality and fine reduction provided by the extended élevage in bottle. It's vibrant and tasty, with an electric palate, 11.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.06 and 5.1 grams of acidity. It was disgorged in November 2024. 2018 was a rainy year with good yields and freshness.”
96 points, Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate
Recaredo Corpinnat Serral del Vell Brut Nature 2018 (Disg. Nov 24)
$163.00
Added
Recaredo Corpinnat Subtil Brut Nature 2019 (Disg. Oct 24)
$152.00
Added

Recaredo Corpinnat Subtil Brut Nature 2019 (Disg. Oct 24)

Biodynamic. 100% Xarel·lo, Subtil is sourced from the Serral del Roure estate, which ranges in altitude from 210 to 285 metres. The soils here are loamy and characterised by a relatively even balance of sand, silt and clay. There is little more clay in the soil than in Serral del Vell, resulting in a tendency to produce a rounder, more mouthfilling wine. A portion of the base wine is fermented in Stockinger barrel, which lends more savoury complexity to this bottling. The wine ages for 36 months in the bottle and is disgorged by hand. The 2019 is a brilliant, suave expression of Catalonia’s signature grape variety, with a core of pulpy, driving stone fruit and a long, chalky, bone-dry finish.

“It has a bright, almost fluorescent yellow color and a complex, elegant but also powerful profile in a very complete vintage with ripeness and freshness, 11.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.3 and 4.7 grams of acidity. It comes from the Serral del Roure vineyard, and the Xarel.lo was refermented with must from the following year from their own vineyards (perhaps around 10% of the volume); so, they keep the base wine for one year aging in stainless steel and partly in oak for one year while waiting for the must from the same vineyard from the following vintage. It takes time for the wine to open up in the glass; it's still austere when compared with the 2018 Serral del Vell, velvety and with subtle carbonic gas, making it a very gastronomical wine, tasty and dry, chalky.”
94+ points, Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate
Recaredo Corpinnat Subtil Brut Nature 2019 (Disg. Oct 24)
$152.00
Added
Recaredo Corpinnat Reserva Particular Brut Nature 2014 (Disg. May 24)
$320.00
Added

Recaredo Corpinnat Reserva Particular Brut Nature 2014 (Disg. May 24)

Biodynamic. 55% Macabeu, 45% Xarel·lo. Recaredo’s Reserva Particular was created in 1962 by Josep Mata Capellades, who wanted to unearth the delicacy and subtle complexity of long-aged sparkling wines in the Penedès setting. The Xarel·lo and Macabeu for this bottling are drawn from some of Recaredo’s oldest vines, planted between 1950 and 1955 in sloping clay soils that give this cuvée its breadth and more traditional old-school personality. Aged for almost 100 months before release, it’s a beautifully weighted and engagingly complex wine with more classical, old-school Penedès notes of menthol, toasted nuts and spice alongside a refined., delicate mousse flecked with Mediterranean herbs, anise and more spice. Serve this at the table, much as you would a fine, mature white wine (which this is!).

“The 2014 Reserva Particular, a wine they first produced in 1962, is a blend of 55% Xarel.lo and 45% Macabeo from a selection of vines planted between 1950 and 1955 on limestone, silt and sandy soils. The Xarel.lo fermented in oak barrels and the Macabeo in stainless steel, both with indigenous yeasts (since 2013) and matured in bottle with the lees, where it refermented for 98 months (eight years and two months). It has 12% alcohol, a pH of 3.17 and 4,9 grams of acidity. This is a very complex wine with reductive and yeasty aromas from years in contact with the lees, and it is very classical, with licorice and freshly baked brioche without losing fruit and floral aromas. The palate is very dry, with a strong chalky sensation. 4,074 bottles produced.”
96 points, Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate
Recaredo Corpinnat Reserva Particular Brut Nature 2014 (Disg. May 24)
$320.00
Added
Recaredo Corpinnat Intens Rosat Brut Nature 2021 (Disg. Oct 24)
$129.00
Added

Recaredo Corpinnat Intens Rosat Brut Nature 2021 (Disg. Oct 24)

Biodynamic. Recaredo’s fascinating Rosat is made from Monastrell, with 12% Garnacha, grown in the Serral de Vell (250 metres) and Marçaneta (200 metres) vineyards. Ton Mata prefers to stay away from the pale style of rosé as he doesn’t believe this on-trend style fits the character of the Alt Penedès. So, against the current fashion, it has an intense ruby colour drawn from six hours of skin contact. Despite the intensity of the colour, it has the subtlety and elegance of a fine Blanc de Blancs, coupled with vinous texture and piercing red-fruit flavours. Aged in bottle for 31 months, it finishes with biscuity complexity and pleasant twist of Mourvèdre savouriness that works beautifully at the table.

“The intense rosé, neatly named 2021 Intens Rosat, has a dark pink color and is a wine that has grown in seriousness in the last few years and reached a new peak in 2021. It was produced with a blend of 88% Monastrell and 12% Garnacha from two small vineyards from the family. It macerated for six hours and had a short aging in oak and was produced with the traditional method of second fermentation in bottle and with a long aging, 31 months (they hope to extend it to 40 months). It has a primary nose with red berries and herbs, some toast and yeasty and leesy notes. What I liked the most is the serious and chalky palate—bone dry and with echoes from the limestone soils—and the sapid finish.”
93+ points, Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate
Recaredo Corpinnat Intens Rosat Brut Nature 2021 (Disg. Oct 24)
$129.00
Added
Recaredo Corpinnat Turó d'en Mota de Recaredo Brut Nature 2011 (Disg. Oct 24)
$528.00
Added

Recaredo Corpinnat Turó d'en Mota de Recaredo Brut Nature 2011 (Disg. Oct 24)

Biodynamic. Described by Tom Hewson as “one of the world’s most remarkable sparkling wines”, the Turó d’en Mota cuvée is sourced from a unique site within the Serral del Vell vineyard. It’s made from just under one hectare of goblet-trained Xarel·lo vines, planted in 1940 at almost 300 metres on the north side of the hill from which it takes its name. Cropped at 22 hl/ha, the wine ferments in barrel and rests on lees over winter with occasional stirring. It then ages in bottle for at least 12 years (150 months for this release) before the first disgorgement, as indicated on every bottle.When the wine was first released in 2008—the 1999 vintage—Turó d’en Mota was the first pure Xarel·lo produced in the region. Today, it is widely considered one of the great, if not the greatest, sparkling wines from Spain. Luis Gutiérrez regularly rates the wine in the high nineties and little wonder. Although far from Champagne, it ages like the great grower wines to the north, developing boundless complexity while remaining alive, vibrant and super detailed. Sheer class. The 2009 and 2010 vintages we have tasted are simply extraordinary: racy, mineral and remarkably vivid and detailed.

“This is one of the years (also 2003 and 2005) when the wines suffered dehydration, and that concentrated everything, including acidity, and the wine has a low pH of 2.96. It has a nose of bread dough and wet chalk, notes of Mediterranean herbs, even esparto grass, a little riper, with a velvety palate, textured, with very fine bubbles, balanced and fresh after 150 months in bottle with lees. 2,646 bottles produced. It was disgorged in October 2024.”
96+ points, Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate
Recaredo Corpinnat Turó d'en Mota de Recaredo Brut Nature 2011 (Disg. Oct 24)
$528.00
Added
Recaredo Corpinnat Turó d'en Mota de Recaredo Brut Nature 2001 (Disg. May 24) (Wooden Gift Box)
$2,010.00
Added

Recaredo Corpinnat Turó d'en Mota de Recaredo Brut Nature 2001 (Disg. May 24) (Wooden Gift Box)

Organic. Arguably the finest sparking wine that has been made from outside Champagne, the 2001 Turó d'en Mota is the second release from Recaredo’s long-aged Enoteca programme started in 1999. After almost 22 years under cork, just 150 bottles were manually disgorged in May 2024 with no dosage. Not only is it “really breathtaking”, to quote Luis Gutiérrez, in terms of purity, energy and complexity, but it also leaves most Grande Marque for dust. It's a Xarel·lo from another planet!Turó d’en Mota cuvée takes its name from unique site within the Serral del Vell vineyard. It’s made from just under one hectare of goblet-trained Xarel·lo vines, planted in 1940 at almost 300 metres on the north side of the hill from which it takes its name. The soils, farmed biodynamically since 2010, contains calcareous lumps and quite a bit of limestone from the Serra del Mar and the Serra Catalana, which were deposited in the area due to erosion. From these lean, rocky soils and these mature vines, Recaredo is searching for the truest expression of the site’s most mineral soils (containing 33% active limestone).

“The big news (in terms of quality, not in terms of volume) is the release of the 2001 Enoteca Turó d'en Mota, from the family reserve they kept of the single-vineyard Xarel.lo they started producing in 1999. It's closed with a spectacular natural cork, worthy of the best wine they have produced to date and, to me, the finest sparkling wine from Spain. It has a very complex and subtle nose that is nuanced and with great complexity of aromas, a mixture of ash, toasted bread, yeasts and smoke from the extended contact of the wine with the lees, hints of mushrooms, diesel, moss and spice, a little balsamic twist (camphor), baked brioche... It has a laced palate with very fine bubbles that give it texture and freshness but are barely noticeable. It has incredible complexity and elegance, really breathtaking. Bravo!!”
100 points, Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate
Recaredo Corpinnat Turó d'en Mota de Recaredo Brut Nature 2001 (Disg. May 24) (Wooden Gift Box)
$2,010.00
Added
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AT-A-GLANCE

• Recaredo is a generational sparkling wine producer, established in 1924 in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, Penedès, by Josep Mata Capellades.

• The estate is run by third-generation Ton Mata, who has carried on the work of his father and uncle, making terroir-specific sparkling wines.

• The estate covers 50 hectares of low-yielding, mature (up to 75 years), certified organic and biodynamic vines around Sant Sadurní d’Anoia.

• Soils are calcareous, and the vines are dry-grown. 60% of the plantings are Xarel·lo, with the balance Macabeu, Parellada, Garnatxa and Monastrell.

• Recaredo is one of only 12 members of Corpinnat, an organisation operating outside Cava DO, enforcing strict viticulture and production rules.

• These traditional-method wines from estate-grown, indigenous varieties are riddled and disgorged by hand after lengthy spells on lees (30 months minimum).

• All the wines are vintage-dated, and the range includes a rosé alongside several blended and single-plot wines.



IN THE PRESS

“They are the best producer of sparkling wine from Spain.” Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate

“‘First Growths’ of Cava. It was like being elevated to a higher level of complexity, a thrilling example of tense, mineral-rich Cava that has a distinct Champagne-like personality.” Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate

“I’m not sure if there is any other sparkling wine producer in the world who works with such strict standards… Congratulations to the Mata family and to winemaker Ton Mata for such achievement. There is a sense of energy and harmony in their wines that is impressive; they are all highly recommended.” Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate

Country

Spain

Primary Region

Penedès, Catalunya

People

Winemaker: Ton Mata

Availability

National

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