Last year, the governing body of Cava, the Consejo Regulador del Cava, approved a new classification of high end wine named Cava de Paraje Calificado which emulates ina way Champagnes “Grand Cru” appellations, acknowledging the superiority of certain areas of production.
The new category means ‘qualified single estate Cava’ and will only include wines of the highest quality that have been aged for a minimum of 36 months.
After months of discussion, last week the Spanish Minstry of Agriculture announced the first 12 sites that will form part of the new classification. Besides climate and soil specifications factors regulated by the DO include the age of the vines, the size of the vineyard and a manual harvest.
As reported on Decanter, the 12 sites are the following:
- Vinyes de Can Martí – Torelló
- Turó d’en Mota – Recaredo
- Serral del Vell – Recaredo
- Vallcirera – Alta Alella
- La Capella – Juvé i Camps
- Can Sala – Freixenet
- La Pleta – Codorníu
- El Tros Nou – Codorníu
- La Fideuera – Codorníu
- Can Prats – Vins el Cep
- Font de Jui – Gramona
- Terroja – Castellroig
The move comes at a time when several Spanish wine regions are aiming to gain a greater recognition for their quality wines, and to venture more into the middle and higher end of the market.