Collection: Heretat Mestres

History

The Mestres family was registered as winemakers as early as 1312. The family has managed land and traded in wine and grain for generations. They made their first sparkling wine in 1925 and opened at Christmas 1928. Mestres first registered the name of Cava in 1959, long before 1986 when the name entered into general use for all Spanish wines made according to the ‘méthode champenoise’. 

In 1948 Mestres was also the first to made a non dosé (zéro dosage). Josep Mestres Manobens decided that the base wine was so good that the sparkling wine did not require a liqueur d'expédition. The Brut Nature was born in the same year and also patented by Mestres. Moreover, the first Brut Nature was named ‘Visol’ literally 'only wine'. Visol is still one of Mestres' special Cavas.

Meanwhile, the 29th generation still only makes Cavas with an exceptionally long second bottle fermentation (up to 160 months) and is truly at the very top in the world of sparkling wines.

The Vineyards

Their own vineyards were planted in 1954. They consist of 30 hectares located at 225 metres above sea level, protected from the cold winds of the Pyrenees by the Montserrat mountain range. Mestres has remained faithful to traditional grapes: Macabeu, Xarel.lo and Parellada. They only use rosé Trepat, Pinot Noir, Garnacha and Monastrell for their rosé Cavas.

The vineyards are managed organically. 

Winemaking

Mestres makes Gran Reserva Cavas exclusively, with a minimum second fermentation of 42 months' duration.

90% of the base wine for the Cavas is aged in chestnut barrels. Autolysis and tertiary aromas are key, and complexity and nuance are paramount. 

Mestres is also the only Cava maker to cap all their bottles with natural cork before the secondary fermentation. Their belief in this (more expensive) manner of working has subsequently been confirmed by science: certain volatile components (measured by the concentration of esters) are better preserved this way, ensuring more consistent aromas.

Dégorgement is always done by hand.