New initiative from the Raventós Codorníu group to intensify its presence in the still wine market, grow in the higher ranges, and highlight the characteristics of some of the terroirs it owns in Penedès. The historic company, a doyen of the cava sector, is a pillar for this region, but, curiously, until now it did not produce wines protected by the Penedès Designation of Origin, which accounts for 30% of the Catalan wine business. It had them in the past, as previously, the still wines of the Bach brand were produced within this DO, until the company decided to move them to the DO Catalunya.
Now, Codorníu will once again have wines under the DO Penedès seal thanks to the launch of Sant Sebastià dels Gorgs, a new commercial brand that has just arrived on the market with two young wines, a white and a red from 2021, and which will soon grow with five more products of a higher category and aging, to create a collection of seven wines. "We are correcting a historical anomaly," acknowledges the Raventós Codorníu group, currently controlled by the American private equity fund Carlyle.
The company produces the Sant Sebastià dels Gorgs brand in the winery that Parxet ---one of the group's other brands--- has in the municipality of Avinyonet del Penedès, until now exclusively dedicated to cava production and inaugurated in 2012 after an investment of more than five million euros. Of the first two wines, Monestir de Sant Sebastià dels Gorgs Blanc and Monestir de Sant Sebastià dels Gorgs Blanc Negre, 30,000 and 40,000 bottles have been produced, respectively, which are sold at a price of 12 euros.
Of the five wines that will be released later ---with prices between 18 and 45 euros---, three will have the Vino de Finca (Estate Wine) qualification, with a production of 30,000 more bottles under the names El Claustre de l'Abat Miró, Les Vinyes de Can Matas, Les Vinyes de l'Aguilera and Les Vinyes Velles de Soldons i Bonastre. Thus, this new collection is expected to increase the global volume of the DO Penedès by 100,000 bottles.
"Both with Monestir de Sant Sebastià dels Gorgs blanc, and its red version, we want to bring the winemaking tradition of Penedès to the table, bringing different terroirs closer and making them known," explains Ricard Rofes, head of Vins de Llegat, the new division created by Raventós Codorníu to bring together the group's small wineries, characterized by producing low-volume brands that prioritize quality and are nourished by historic vineyards that are harvested manually.
Rofes, one of Catalonia's prestigious enologists, has been the architect of the success of the ScalaDei (DOQ Priorat) and Abadía de Poblet (DO Conca de Barberà) wineries and now leads this process of creating new brands that will strengthen Raventós Codorníu's position in the quality wine market. Thus, recently, the Can Matons brand has also been developed to market wines produced in DO Alella.
Along with ScalaDei, Abadía de Poblet, Can Matons and Sant Sebastià dels Gorgs, the wineries Portal del Montsant, Parxet, Mont-Ferrant and Titiana are part of Vins de Llegat. Except for ScalaDei and Abadia de Poblet, all these brands were incorporated into Codorníu thanks to the absorption, in 2018, of Gleva Estates, the wine group that one of the branches of the Raventós family ---led by Ramon Raventós Basagoiti--- had founded from the acquisition of Parxet and that developed for a few years in parallel and in competition with the historic company of Sant Sadurní d'Anoia.
The larger volume wineries of the Catalan wine company, such as Codorníu, Raimat, Bodegas Bilbaínas, Legaris, Artesa or Séptima, are not part of Vins de Llegat. In total, the Raventós Codorníu group invoiced 174 million euros (3% less) in its last fiscal year, closed on June 30, 2021. The objective set by the company's CEO, Sergio Fuster, was to exceed 200 million euros in the fiscal year that will close this month and which includes a successful Christmas campaign that the executive described as "the best of the last ten years." Half of the business comes from the sale of cava and the other half from the production of still wines.
According to Raventós Codorníu, the Sant Sebastià dels Gorgs collection aims to be a tribute to the monastery of the same name located in the municipality of Avinyonet del Penedès and surrounded by vineyards. This monastery was founded in 1024 by the nobleman Mir Geribert, self-proclaimed Prince of Olèrdola, who led a revolt against the Count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer I. During its early years, Sant Sebastià dels Gorgs became an abbey and the reference monastery for all of Penedès, Anoia, and Baix Llobregat, with many possessions of land and vineyards. In 1409, it became dependent on the Montserrat abbey, and then communal life disappeared. With the disentailments of the 19th century, the monastery came to belong to private individuals.
"The wines of Sant Sebastià dels Gorgs are the result of meticulous work to capture their origin as clearly as possible. They are honest, frank, and direct wines. And with a clear intention to provide enjoyment from the very first moment," assures Xevi Carbonell, winemaker for this collection of new Penedès wines.
The young red wine that has already been released to the market is a blend of syrah, garnacha tinta, and cabernet sauvignon. For its part, the white is a bi-varietal of macabeo and sauvignon blanc.