Canals i Munné 4 medals in 2010 and the wines are sold out

Sant Sadurni, the capital of Cava, is a small town where (pleasant) surprises lay around every single corner. The new Canals i Munné winery is located along the Vilafranca del Penedès road, 35 kilometres from Barcelona. It is a traditional, family-run winery that nurtures both a human scale and a quality approach to its wines. It produces Cava and still wines from Penedès and exports over 60 percent of its wines to Germany, Denmark, Brazil, Japan, China, the United States and Belgium.

Canals i Munné was among the first Catalan families to make this particular sparkling wine. Its first vintage dates back to 1915 and the tradition has been upheld to the present day. The prerequisite modern-day component has been taken on board to ensure the firm stays competitive. At the same time, every precaution is taken to preserve its human scale and rein in output so as to guarantee the quality of the wine and restrict size to that of a manageable concern. Annual production totals 250,000 bottles, most of which are Cava (sparkling wines with a secondary fermentation in the bottle).

“Last year in Sicily, our wines were awarded four medals – a ‘Grande Médaille’ for the 2003 Serralet del Guineu Cava, gold for our red 2000 Gran Princeps and 2 silver medals for our 2004 Brut Nature Cava (in standard bottles and a magnum)”, says Oscar Medina. “We were totally taken aback by the spin-offs. We consolidated our presence in Belgium, which was fairly predictable, but we also entered the Japanese market which holds great promise for our Cavas. The biggest surprise of all though was in our home market. There is absolutely no doubt that winning a CMB medal drives sales in Spain”. Ultimately, and although many see a medal as a boost to the prestige of their winery and wines, the primary ambition has to be sales, especially in times of recession. At Canals i Munné, the warehouses are virtually empty…

The ‘Grande Médaille’ was awarded to their Serralet del Guineu, a very elegant Cava made from a classic, Champagne-style blend of 40 percent Pinot Noir, 30 percent Chardonnay and enhanced with 20 percent of the native Xarel-lo varietal and 10 percent Macabeu. This ‘Gran Reserva’ undergoes lengthy ageing and is kept on the lees for 55 months. It is a natural dry ‘gran reserva’ sparkler showing abundant reserves and freshness. Creamy with refined, delicate bubbles, it retains great fruitiness balanced by highly distinguished ageing aromas.

One of the winery’s first experiences of export was in Luxembourg in 1999. Perhaps this coincidence is a harbinger of more good luck to come at the 2011 Concours in the Grand Duchy.

www.canalsimunne.com

Reporting by Frédéric Galtier – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

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