A visit at Celler Vell
I often conduct tasting for my guests, and to make a tasting flight complete, I like including a sparkling wine with some barrel ageing, but it is not easy to find one (a balanced, elegant one at reasonable price). At Prowein I came across the booth of Celler Vell, a familiar winery. Well, familiar to me, since we enjoyed endless bottles of Celler Vell cava at 7 years ago, back at my daughter’s graduation party…
Miquel Estruch, member of the third generation, at Prowein, Düsseldorf
So, I never forgot the name Celler Vell (the graduation party was really nice), and many times I passed the estate building while I was on my daily running in the countryside, yet, I have never visited them. Now, tasting at Prowein gave me the final push, so I visited the cellar last Saturday
A word about this Saturday / Sunday madness
Well, do you plan to visit a winery in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia at the weekend? You have plenty of options, but you have only one choice. Why? Because all of the cellars await guests at the same time, at around 11.00–12.00, but all of them are closed in the afternoon. It is a Catalan thing, I guess, they love having a “vermouth” before lunch, vermouth meaning not the drink, but something to drink with some snack.
Small indeed
Sant Sadurní d’Anoia is often dubbed as the Capital of Cava, with reason: the first sparkling wine of Spain was made here, and more than 80% of the total cava production of Spain is concentrated here with giants like Freixenet, Codorníu and some larger wineries like Juvé & Camps and Pedregosa.
And also there are tiny family wineries, Celler Vell belongs to this group with only 50 000 bottles a year. They own a few hectares around the estate building, and also, they buy grapes from grape growers with long time contract. All of the production is organic. The estate was founded by Pere Estruch i Casanovas in 1954, back then he was making the sparkling wines in the town. His sons, Pere and Josep Maria continued their father’s path, what is more, they have managed to build the estate building just out of the town with much more space and with stunning view.
As said, the products are organic, and part of the riddling is done by hands, mainly for practical reasons: the top cavas of the winery have special bottle shape that do not fit in the gyropalette.
Celler Vell team does not restrict their production to the local grapes: they admit the merits of the local trio of Xarel·lo, Macabeu and Perellada, but they also rely on the greatness of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Now the sons of the brothers are also involved in the family business: I met Miquel, Pere’s son at Prowein and I also met Marçal, Pere’s nephew several times at wine events presenting cavas to the public (and he was my daughter’s classmate, thank God, this is why we could have plenty of cava at the graduation).
Celler Vell estate building on the far right, AVE Intercity train on the left
No joke: the cellar is ideal for trainspotters
Haven’t you met a trainspotter yet? This phenomenon exists, I know. Once I had a train-freak boyfriend, our first date was in a railway museum. His screensaver featured a railway engine. Our relationship did not last long…
But seriously, trains are important for many people, and actually I love trains as well – to a healthy extent –, I like travelling by train and I find model trains fun. And Celler Vell has a huge, amazing model railway with its surroundings and with an astonishing show. The creator spent 1600 hours to build the table, and he did a great job with several creative ideas. I don’t want to spoiler the show, you must see it! The sounds, the lights, the visuals on the screen in the background, the tiny vehicles, the faithful reproduction of the landscape of Sant Sadurní all enhance the experience. Unmissable.
On the left: riddling stands in the cellar, on the right: the model version of the town
Tasting
The official tasting includes two cavas, here they are:
– Celler Vell Reserva Brut Nature
Made of the local three grapes and aged on the lees for 24 months. Very clean, ethereal, refreshing nose with white flowers and peach. Juicy and refreshing on the palate with some lovely biscuit notes.
Food recommendation by the winery: Perfect for any time of day with a snack, or as an accompaniment to fish and seafood dishes, particularly rice-based dishes.
– Inici Estruch Brut Nature Gran Reserva
Here we have the two great Champagne varieties in 50-50 proportion, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, aged for at least 30 months. Elegant, complex, full body, creamy texture, a lovely mix of fresh fruits and nutty notes.
Food recommendation by the winery: Seafood, rice and baked fish. Its smoothness lends itself well to creamy cheeses.
A touch of oak
The barrel aged beauty is not included at the usual visit, I tasted it at Prowein:
– Estruch Cuvée Les Solanes Reserva
This long-aged cava is made of the local star, Xarel·lo, blended with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, all represent one third of the blend. All fermented separately, the Xarel·lo and the Chardonnay in 300 L used French oak for 6–8 months (using bâtonnage), while the Pinot Noir in stainless steel. The blend is bottled and spends around two years in bottle.
I loved the subtle notes, the almost hidden touch of the oak. A creamy, well made, complex sparkling wine a beautiful balance of citrus fruits and yeasty nots complemented with a wide range of nuts.
How to visit?
Certainly, the easiest way is to go by car, the cellar is just five minutes from Sant Sadurní d’Anoia (which is about 40-50 minutes from Barcelona).
In case you want to get there by public transport, take a train from Barcelona (R4 Rodalies), it takes approximately 50 minutes. From the railway station walk through the town, a lovely walk, and then walk 15 more minutes in a path with no car traffic, among bushes and trees. It is altogether 40 minutes from the railway station (2.7 km).
As I mentioned above, the visits are on Saturday and Sunday in two turns, one at 11.00 and the other at 12.00. The price is only 11 EUR for adults (including a 3 EUR voucher that you can use on your purchase). For kids under 10 the entrance is gratis, for youngsters between 11 and 17 it costs 5 EUR while for seniors (over 64) the price is 8 EUR. The visits are in Catalan or Spanish, but English visits are available if you make an appointment in advance.
Also, you can contact us (info@sparklingspain.com) and we can escort you and translate for you.
