I can’t remember ever attending a vertical tasting where most of the vintages presented had not yet been released. But that is exactly what happened last October at Celler de Can Roca, the three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Girona, courtesy of the Mata family, owners of Recaredo.

The occasion? To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Turó d'en Mota, its single-vineyard, long-aged sparkling wine, and to present an Enoteca edition that defies the limits of time in terms of ageing: more than 23 years on the lees.

The tasting was also the last opportunity to exchange a few words with Antoni Mata Casanovas, the winery's president, who died a month later at the age of 81, and who savoured the event with great emotion. His commitment to developing the family's winegrowing heritage and creating a style of dry sparkling wine that eschews dosage and opts for longer ageing is the cornerstone of what Recaredo is today.

His son, Ton Mata, the current CEO, praised his father's work when he said: "Our generation has been able to age a wine for 10 years without having to sell a bottle; my father's and uncle's generation could not do that. It was a great idea shared with them and a great opportunity for us."

A turning point 

Turó d'en Mota was a turning point in the Spanish sparkling wine industry. Not only did it prove that bubbly could be a terroir-driven wine, but it also raised the quality standards for the Xarel.lo variety, successfully extending ageing to 100 months without a hint of fatigue, and pushing the price to €100, a figure previously restricted to Champagne. Nowadays it sells for around €135 in Spain, while the 150 numbered bottles of Enoteca now on sale cost around €575 each.

Antoni Mata and the rest of the family knew from the start that Turó d'en Mota was a special vineyard. Located next to their Serral del Vell property, they bought it in 1998 and vinified it separately the following year. The site has a particular charm, with its goblet trained vines climbing a gentle hill (turó) crowned by a pine forest. The plot, measuring just under a hectare, faces north-east, which favours a slower ripening and good acidity. The soil is very calcareous, with a silty loam texture and abundant calcareous nodules. The best vintages include grapes from a 0.55 hectare section of the same vineyard with south-east exposure. The name Mota refers to the family that owned the land and a farmhouse in the area.

In its 25 years of existence, and with only 11 vintages released (the current one is 2009), the brand has experienced a series of ups and downs. Paradoxically, it was born as a generic cava because it did not pass the Gran Reserva tasting; the 2004 and 2005 vintages were sold as Cava de Paraje Calificado, while the 2006 vintage, which saw Recaredo leave the DO Cava along with several other sparkling wine producers in 2019, was partly sold as cava while everything disgorged after 30 January of that year was released as Corpinnat. From a climatic point of view, "all sorts of things have happened, but we have been able to make every single vintage", Ton Mata pointed out during the tasting.

25 vintages

The tasting was conducted in two parts. The younger vintages ageing in the cellar, including the 2023 base wine, were served along with a series of appetizers; the rest, with more time for each of them, were served with the menu, although those of us who wanted to, were able to keep all the samples at the table. 

The logistics involved the rental of 2,000 glasses and an impeccable job by the team of sommeliers and waiters at Celler de Can Roca. For the first time, and at the explicit request of Antoni Mata Casanovas, sommelier Josep "Pitu" Roca sat down as a fellow diner to enjoy the cuisine of the restaurant he co-owns with his brothers Joan and Jordi.

The bottles were disgorged in September this year. The process is carried out manually, as is the winery's practice, at room temperature and without freezing the neck of the bottle. This means that the tasting sensations are different from those we would experience, for example, with a 2004 purchased at the time of release, which would now have notes associated with a five-year evolution after disgorgement. As a curiosity, all the vintages of Turó d'en Mota have been sold in sequence, except for the 2002, which preceded the 2001.

Similarly, all the vintages have undergone malolactic fermentation, with the exception of 2000. "To avoid this process," explained Ton Mata, "you need very low pH levels, or you have to add SO2."

2023-2010: what’s next

From 2023, we tasted the base wine prior to the second fermentation in bottle. It is the driest vintage since 2016. It shows some signs of identity, such as the aniseed notes of Xarel.lo and a pronounced but not aggressive acidity. According to Ton Mata, they are looking for a middle ground between the vegetal and citrus notes. This vintage encompasses the entire plot, including the south-east facing part of the vineyard.

In the 2022 vintage, with only one month of ageing, the yeasts and a slight reduction were more pronounced. It is a warm year and the earliest in the history of the wine. The pH is relatively low (2.96), like other warm vintages such as 2011, 2005 or 2003, as a result of the concentration and dehydration process in the grapes.

We found more definition in 2021 (floral, herbaceous, persistence, well-integrated acidity), which they consider very good except for the low yields (35% lower). In 2020, one of the tightest wines of the tasting, the loss was even greater (40%), but in this case it was due to the rain, which was higher than usual in the region, and the incidence of mildew.

With three and a half years of ageing and a more vigorous vintage, 2019 delivered a round and more focused sparkling wine (balsamic notes, enveloping, fresh and ripe acidity), while 2018 was a little more vegetal and reduced on the nose, but with a juicy mouthfeel. There was a bit more ripeness in 2017, in tune with the heatwaves of that summer, but also with the counterpoint of Mediterranean herbs. 2016 was one of my favourites at this early stage, when the wines are still being made (albeit with more than six years of ageing): with intensity, juicy citrus fruit, good concentration, yet elegant. It contrasts with the greater opulence and structure of 2015, a particularly warm vintage with very low yields (just over 1,500 kg/ha) due to the lack of water. There is no doubt that Penedès is one of the regions facing the biggest climatic challenges in Spain. Take a look at the low yields between 2015 and 2018 in the table below.

The 2014 was full and complex, with citrus, aniseed and fine smoky notes, and excellent length and substance on the palate ("a textbook vintage for us because it was normal," Ton Mata ironised). In 2013, the summer was not as hot and the cold nights slowed down the ripening process. The wine's acidity is more pronounced and its evolution is slower, with delicate floral notes on the nose; it probably also needs more time to develop. The 2012, with more than 10 years of ageing under its belt, was very balanced, while the 2011 (rainy winter and dry, hot summer) combines the ripeness of the fruit with a rather sharp acidity, perhaps also the result of the dehydration of the grapes, which caused the pH to drop to 2.96.
2010 will be the next Turó d'en Mota to be released in March/April next year. For the first time it will be bottled both in magnum (100 bottles) and jeroboam (5 bottles). It is now in great shape, with honeyed notes of fennel, ample on the palate, well integrated acidity, fine bitter notes and good persistence.

2009-1999: taking a look back

The second flight began with the recently released 2009 vintage. It was a balanced year with plenty of rain in the autumn and a dry, classic Mediterranean summer. It has aniseed and honeyed notes, with a certain yeasty character, and a finely chiselled mouthfeel. With 14 years of ageing, the 2008 is more expressive (complex, herbal), and stands out for its vibrant acidity and sapid mouthfeel. The 2007 is a little more mature, with elegant petrol notes and a very Mediterranean herbal character on the palate (almost reminiscent of vermouth), giving it a distinct personality. The 2006 we tasted was surprisingly firm, fresh and seductive, with excellent balance and a vibrant acidity adding length and persistence. The 2005 follows a more mature style, although it gains freshness on the finish and offers plenty of toasted notes on the palate.

The 2004 vintage is one of my Recaredo favourites (also for the Reserva Particular, the estate's other iconic wine, created jointly by the first and second generations in 1962). It was a rainy year, but the summer was dry and the grapes were slow to ripen, delaying the harvest until mid-September. After just over 18 years of ageing, it retains a very special liveliness, complex and indefinable, with a lot of everything on the palate (acidity, intensity, persistence...). Impressive.

The journey continued with a 2003 that combined ripe, mellow fruit with the high acidity that comes from dehydration. After a scorching summer, the vintage was saved by the rains of late August and early September. The contrast with 2002 is striking: a cold and rainy year, but with very good acidity for ageing, with a hint of mushroom and a slightly earthy texture. Balsamic and petrol notes characterise the 2001, with a powerful but balanced palate, perhaps closer in style to a wine than a sparkling wine, but with plenty of substance. Unfortunately, the bottle I tasted of the 2000, a year with a mild summer, was not in the best condition to judge the wine.

The tasting ended with the 1999 Turó d'en Mota Enoteca, which, after 23 years and five months on the lees, has reached a moment of plenitude and maturity. It was a very cold and dry winter, with little rainfall in general. The nose is complex, with an abundance of toasted notes, hints of infused herbs and a damp, earthy background. On the palate, the fine bitterness, good acidity and excellent integration of all its elements stand out. Very well integrated bead and at that intermediate point between a wine and a sparkling wine, between the terroir and the imprint of the ageing process. Exclusive flavours that very few palates can experience.