Cava Sumarroca El Gran Amigo Gran Reserva 2018

The Sumarroca family have been making wine for several generations. They began in the village of Llimiana in Jussa, before moving to the more premium wine-growing area of Penedès nearer Barcelona. Husband and wife Carlos and Nuria Sumarroca bought a 15th-century estate there in 1982 so they could begin producing white and sparkling wines. Since their inception, their philosophy has been to focus on making innovative, characterful, balanced wines rather than competing with larger wineries: their emphasis is always on quality rather than quantity.

To that aim, in 1999 they bought nearly 405ha of land, meaning that they can now use 100% of their own grapes and have ultimate control over the fruit that goes into their wine. This newer land means they are the largest cava producer to make their wines entirely from estate-grown fruit. Production is tightly managed: they use only free-run juice (the pressed juice is sold to other bodegas) and practise sustainable farming to preserve the vineyards for future generations. To further secure their estate for their heirs, they also maintain research projects into new production methods and practise sustainable farming in the vineyards.

They might own some of the prettiest vineyards in the area, but their pickers unfortunately don’t benefit from the views: all harvesting is done at night to ensure grapes are picked at optimum cool temperatures. Pinot noir is grown to make their rosado, whereas their regular cava is made from the traditional macabeo, xarello, and parellada grapes. The addition of a small amount of chardonnay adds an extra dimension that sets this cava above its competitors, one of the reasons why we chose Sumarroca for The Society label.