Mestres

We are very excited to bring you a new cava producer, though Mestres and "new" are not words which co-exist often. Indeed Mestres not only pioneered production with no dosage (in 1945) but actually registered the word “cava” in 1959, and these are recent developments for them. The current owners are the 30th generation to run the estate, as the first records of the family as vinegrowers and négociants date back to 1312. In the 1600’s they began construction of the winery in San Sadurni d’Anoia, which was finished in 1861. They bottled their first sparkling wine in 1925, and opened their first bottle to celebrate Christmas in 1928. They make López de Heredia seem like arrivistes! All that aside, it is the quality of the wines that drew our attention. The youngest of their wines is aged 2 years in the cellar, making all of their bottlings either Reserva or Gran Reserva. In order to achieve cavas that are full and rich, development is never rushed - the wines undergo a natural stabilization process during their long aging, so that the crystals which form can then be disgorged along with the yeasts. All of their production is aged under cork during tirage, and all bottles are riddled and disgorged by hand. They have about six vintages worth of stock in their impressive cellars under the main square of San Sadurni. They also have the luxury, being so long on the scene, of owning excellent vineyard land not yet in production that they are carefully and methodically bringing on stream.

Producer:	Mestres
Country:	Spain
Region:	Catalonia
City of Origin:	Sant Sadurní d'Anoia
Date Founded:	1312
Owner Name:	Joan Aura (owner and head winemaker)
Vineyard Size:	80 HA
Total Annual Production:	155,000 bottles

Property History:

Mestres first documents as wine négociant are dated from 1312. We still have documents dated 1567 frm Mestres. In 1607, we find documents s vine growers and owners showing the vineyard: "Heretat Mas Coquet". It is believed that at that time, the family owned 100 hectares (247 acres) of land. In the 1600's they starated burilding the ctul winery in Sant Sadurni d' Anoia, Penedes, Spain, which was finished in 1861. They are still owned by the 30th generation of family: Mestres. The winery uses 60 percent of the first press juice and sells the remaining juice, grapes, and seeds.

Owner History:

The Mestres family was the first producer to register the word CAVA in 1959, aiming to inform the consumer that this was a sparkling wine, aged in a cellar, using the words "wines made in cellar" (vins de cava). First ones to produce a cava "non dosage" in 1945, Visol (translated to only wine). This was done by Josep Mestres Manobens. Josep's son, Antonio Mestres Sagués, was a pioneer in the inroduction of some new techniques regarding the fermentation process for the illustaion of CAVA. They have always used the traditional grapes of their terrior: Xarel lo, Parellada, and Macabeu, all of them, hand harvested on their own 74 acres of vineyards, situated at 690 feet about sea level.