New Cava classification dispels ‘myth’ that small wineries own artisan credentials ... Comentario de / Comment of Wines Inform Assessors

New Cava classification dispels ‘myth’ that small wineries own artisan credentials 

 

Xavier Pagès, CEO of Codorniu Raventós

by Arabella Mileham 


The new single estate Cava classification is likely to “do away with the myth that only small wineries can craft artisan and quality offerings”, Codorniu Raventos CEO Javier Pagés has claimed.
Speaking to db following the unveiling of the first twelve estates recognised under Cava’s new ultra-premium ‘Cava de Paraje’ tier, Pagés said it was proud to have three of the company’s estates recognised under the new classification, which would showcase the winemaking expertise of the company’s long history.
“This recognition is a milestone in the history of Cava and helps us to keep on elaborating great Cavas and wines, and to do away with the myth that only small wineries can craft artisan and quality offerings. Is an acknowledgment to an exceptional terroir and to the degree of excellence in our elaboration,” he said.
The three vineyards recognised as ‘Cava de Paraje’ comprise Finca La Fideuera in Alt Penedès, Finca La Pleta in Costers del Segre and Finca El Tros Nou in Conca de Barberà, which Pages points out represent different terroirs in three different climate zones, which are planted with the three different grape varieties (Xarel.lo, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir). Grapes from the three vineyards are used in Codorniu’s Ars Collecta Codorníu range, which was launched on the market last December.
“Is an acknowledgment to an exceptional terroir and to the degree of excellence in our elaboration,” Pagés said.
Javier Pages, CEO of Codorniu Raventos
He argued that the new category would show Cava as a premium product that “can comfortably go cork-to-cork” with best sparkling wines in the world.
The aim of the classification was to get people to have the same level of respect and quality for Cava as they have for Bordeaux or Champagne, he explained, and this was likely to cast a halo effect on the premium end of the Cava market.
“Nowadays, the prestige business (ie consumer sales of more than €12) already exceeds 20% of sales in our group,” he said.
He added that the premium Cava offer had also become more interesting for global consumers in recent years, and this had become a primary strategy both for Codorníu and the wider cava market.
“We strongly believe that’s the only way [forward].”
As part of the classification process, the company looked at around 3,000 hectares of its vineyards to identify the best sites, which Pagés said had boosted the quality of its wines across the board.
“It enabled the group to raise the quality of all its products, as we identified a number of extraordinary vineyards,” he explained. “Accordingly this classification has born an ambitious project that will develop for over a decade.
Cava unveiled the first twelve sites to its new single classification ‘Cava de Paraje’, which was first proposed by the Cava Regulatory Board in May 2015, last week.


Comentario de / Comment of Wines Inform Assessors:


No estoy seguro de que ésta sea la manera de mostrar los buenos cavas que se hacen en Cataluña .
Decanter informa de: "Codorníu said that it only made around 300 bottles each of its three wines in the new classification, with a recommended retail price of 90 euros per bottle." Esta cifra en una empresa que produce 45 millones de botellas muestra una acción de marketing no correcta y que a a larga no lleva a ningún lado
Se prima parece el lugar físico de producción y ello me parece un gran error . El primer valor son los productores -ayudados por tantos otros elementos necesarios: tierra, técnica, variedades de uva, ilusión, instalaciones adecuadas, ...-
Codorniu es una empresa con prestigio y con un tamaño que les permite hacer de todo ...a seguir la evolución de esta nueva manera de clasificar cavas y confiar en  que no sea simplemente una arma de propaganda
Wines Inform Assessors, Barcelona
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I am not sure that this is the way to show the good cavas that are made in Catalonia.
Decanter reports: "Codorníu said that it only made about 300 bottles each of its three wines in the new classification, with a recommended retail price of 90 euros per bottle." This figure in a company that produces 45 million bottles shows a marketing action that is not correct and that in the long run leads nowhere
It seems like the physical place of production seems to me to be a big mistake. The first value is the producers - assisted by so many other necessary elements: earth, technique, grape varieties, illusion, adequate facilities,...
Codorniu is a company with prestige and a size that allows them to do everything ... to follow the evolution of this new way to classify cavas and trust that it is not simply a propaganda weapon
Wines Inform Assessors, Barcelona


Origin information: The Drink Business