AT Roca “Rosat Reserva” Penedès, Catalonia 2021

FROM JOSÉ PASTOR

THE WINE: This vintage dated, sparkling rosé is made from equal parts Macabeu and Garnatxa. The Garnatxa is gently macerated with its skins for 9-12 hours, giving the wine a very pale pink hue. The Macabeu for this wine comes from the Massís del Garraf subzone, grown in calcareous gravel soils at 320-420m elevation, whereas the Garnatxa comes from a lower area in Conca de l’Anoia where the soil is more clay-calcareous. Primary fermentation is in stainless steel using natural yeasts, and then aged sur lie for a minimum of 20 months and bottled with zero dosage. Disgorgement date listed on the back label.

THE PRODUCER: There is a revolution happening in Penedès and AT Roca is at the vanguard. After decades under the control of the sprawling and dominating Cava DO, a handful of producers have defected. It started with a single winery, but slowly more and more quality sparkling wine producers are disassociating themselves from this DO that has nothing to do with a sense of place. Catalans have never been afraid of separating from the masses, and in the heart of Catalunya, AT Roca is no different.

Over 75% of the total Cava production comes from just two behemoth wineries, and they control all aspects of the DO. The Cava DO is unique in that it does not have physical boundaries, rather the requirement is only that their sparkling wines be made in the método tradicional. The DO encompasses over 23 different regions across Spain, leading many of its Catalan members feeling that it cannot ever truly represent what is most important to them: the unique terruño of Penedès. Often maligned, Penedès has a reputation for only producing inexpensive wines of lesser quality. There’s a budding movement to change the way people view Penedès sparkling wines, and for people to start recognizing the importance and uniqueness of the terruño. A growing number of wineries have chosen to no longer associate themselves with the Cava DO, and have formed their own organizations with more stringent requirements such as aging and farming practices.

Agustí Torello Roca and his father and aunt, Agustí Torello Sibill and Lali Torello Sibill, founded AT Roca in 2013 with a focus on vineyards and wines with a sense of place. The name Agustí Torello is well-known and established in Penedès, having produced quality Cava for three generations under the label Agustí Torello Mata, named after the grandfather of the family. One of the first priorities for AT Roca was to join DO Classic Penedès, a subset of the Penedès DO that was formed in 2012. It started with just 10 members, and has been growing ever since. DO Classic Penedès is perhaps the first governing body that requires organic certification in order to be a member. In addition to the farming requirements, 15 months aging on the lees is the minimum (only 9 months is required in DO Cava), and all wines must be traditional method and vintage dated. AT Roca goes well beyond these standards by only using indigenous yeasts and harvesting 100% of their grapes by hand (most grapes in Cava and Classic Penedès are harvested by machine). For their single vineyard wines, they ferment in used barrels and age the wines on the lees under natural cork instead of crown caps, both of which are rarities in the region. Sulfur is only used once to block malolactic as an effort to retain the natural acidity of the grapes. All of their sparkling wines are zero dosage.