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PREMIUM

Gramona: producer profile and latest releases tasted

Founded in 1850, the Penedès winery has become a sparkling Spanish icon. Simon Field MW looks back at its history and tastes a selection of current and rare releases.

Champagne’s two best-known sparkling siblings have fared rather differently over the last decade or so. Italy’s Prosecco, ethereal, approachable and flirtatious, has gone from strength to strength. Meanwhile Spain’s Cava has struggled to free itself from a reputation for wines somewhat lacking in charm – even if it is Cava that cleaves to traditional method winemaking.


Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 12 recently-tasted Gramona wines


What to do? One grower above all others has demonstrated the potential quality at play in its pretty Catalan vineyards. Founded in 1850, Gramona is now run by its fifth and sixth generations. Xavier Gramona and his son Leo Gramona are in charge of all things commercial, while Jaume Gramona and his son Roc Gramona looking after the vineyards.

A family affair

Inherited skills take us all the way back to founder Pau Batlle who – benefitting from the fact that phylloxera took several years to cross the Pyrenees – established a successful business selling his Catalan wines to French sparkling wine producers. His daughter Pilar married Bartolomé Gramona, son of a wine family from Sant Sadurní d’Anoia and they began selling sparkling wines under the Gramona label in the early 20th century.


See Simon Field MW’s scores and notes for 12 recently-tasted Gramona wines


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