The name Raventós is best known as the creator of sparkling wine in Catalonia, Spain, Raventós i Blanc.
Raventós i Blanc is a winery with one of the longest documented winegrowing traditions in the world, linked to the other famous cava maker Codorníu. The family farm has belonged to the Raventós family since 1497.
Today, Pepe Raventós who runs the estate represents the twenty-first generation of the family, farming 44 plots using biodynamic winegrowing methods and is committed to maintaining the estate of vines, wood and lake as a complete entity.
Direct descendants of Josep Raventós Fatjó– now represents one of the oldest family traditions in the world (winegrowers since 1497); 21 generations of winemakers. Raventós i Blanc are pioneers in animal traction in Spain, and one of the few enclosed estates that only practices biodynamic viticulture.
Pepe Raventós’ vision and passion for natural oenology led him to decide that in his garage there would be no place for cars since he wanted to convert it into a space for natural winemaking.
He decided to start his small personal project focusing solely on natural wines; his dream was to learn to make wine as it used to be done in the old days.
Following the first two harvests of his personal project (called Natural Wines by Pepe Raventós) Pepe create the Can Sumoi collection that will shortly release its second vintage, named after the farm bearing the same name.
Can Sumoi is a biodynamic farm that has existed since 1645; located 600 meters above sea level, with local varieties and a source of unique soils. The natural wine collection is made up entirely of the following wines: Can Sumoi Xarel·lo 2018, Can Sumoi Perfum 2018, Can Sumoi La Rosa 2018, Can Sumoi Ancestral Sumoll 2018 and Can Sumoi Ancestral Montònega 2018. They are all-natural wines from local varieties and with minimal intervention in viticulture and the winemaking processes.
Find below my tasting review notes about a couple of wines from the Natural Wine collection I was given to try.
Read & Learn More about Raventós I Blanc
Read more about Raventós I Blanc through the links below that will take you to the full winery-producer profile including a brief history of the domaine and family, climate, biodynamic viticulture, its people, and how the estate left the Cava Appellation to Create a New DO.
Wine Trip to Visit Raventós i Blanc: Catalan Fine Sparkling Wine Producer
The Natural Wines of Pepe Raventós – Reviewed and Rated
2018 Can Sumoi Serra de l’Home Xarel-Lo, Natural White from Penedès, Catalonia
Score: 90/100
Overall Review Notes & tasting Impressions
In a light and zingy lemon-yellow color with hints of green hues, this Natural White from Penedès shines with a vibrant and zesty aromatic profile dominated by notes of freshly-cut apple and lemon zest. Delicate hints of cardamom and fresh basil leaves make for a very lifted nose that already feels refreshing and aerial, helped by subtle scents of cool sea breeze.
The palate delights by a vibrant mineral acidity that feels like tiny crystals on your tongue, developing into a salivating, almost delicately salty finish adding slightly bitter phenolics.
It’s n explosion of dry apple juice and freshly-squeezed lemon to taste, on a light body and thirst-quenching acidity, while solid aromatic intensity kicks in from the mid-palate on to bring more depth and weight to an otherwise aerial and seamless tasting experience focused on a myriad of citrus zests and green-tea-like minerality.
A very satisfying natural white, seamless to drink and extremely likable. The biodynamic efforts and natural winemaking elaborated by Pepe Raventos has yielded a lively and almost frivolous wine that excites the taste buds through its myriad of citrus fruit and mixed apple scents, while the salty minerality and zingy acidity, underlined by a wild yeasty background, will inevitably bring you back to have another glass.
A wine that seems intangible at first from so much aerial and fruity lightness, but that grows on you more and more at every sip…
Pepe Raventós Isabel Negra Natural Red Wine, Catalonia
Score: 89/100 points
Overall Review Notes & Tasting Impressions
A red wine (vi negre as the Catalan say) with a vibrant red color of medium intensity but filled with lifting purple hues making it look youthful and appealing.
The aromatic profile is split between an earthy character of forest floor and a bright fruity expression of fresh blackberry and fresh wild strawberry. Hints of tomato leaf, white pepper and vanilla make for both a charming and intriguing nose, especially considering the lifted green apple tones.
The palate reveals a juicy red wine with a zingy acidity on a bone-dry backbone rounded up by a smooth medium body and granulous yet relatively discrete tannins.
This is a wine that before all tastes somewhat salty, mineral some would say, and zingy. Crystals of acidity seem to be backed up by crystals of salt populating the overall dominant pleasing fruitiness. It feels a little like the crystal of salt you find in a salted caramel ice cream, somewhat surprising at first, but utterly satisfying once you’ve actually experienced it. You just want to get back to it. It is so intriguing yet pleasing and convincing.
A natural red with a bursting fruity expression, clean and expressive, yet featuring a myriad of varied and discrete facets. Dry, acidic and thirst-quenching, this is a pleasing red that is very easy to love and enjoy abundantly, should you preferably pair it with tasty and rich dishes, grilled meats, rich stews, meaty and garlic tapas of creamy cheeses….
Watch my Visit to the Raventós I Blanc Estate in Video
Enjoy 🙂
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