Gambling (Literally) on the Spanish DO You’ve Never Heard Of (Probably)

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Today, we’re going to talk about a brand that is (quite literally) gambling on a Spanish region that you (probably) know nothing about whatsoever.

Back in November of 2024, I was a media guest of Perelada, a somewhat enigmatic producer who is basically the biggest thing going in Spain’s Empordà DO (which is primarily in Cava country in Catalonia, and is probably much, much more famous for being the home of Salvador Dalí, and for being the location of one of his dedicated museums). Their history there and journey into wine are, in summary, a bit convoluted, and the story is filled with interesting tangents. So try to bear with me here.

Back in the 1920s, the Mateu family decided to buy their current estate—which houses a castle from the 14th century that served as a hiding place for local museum treasures during the Spanish Civil War, was home to a convent (one of the last such Gothic cloisters that still exists in Spain), and served as a summer home for the extended family of Spanish counts. Ostensibly, this was to serve as a personal museum, a place to showcase the historical items the Mateus had acquired via their success in co-founding the luxury auto brand and former manufacturer of airplane engines, Hispano Suiza (which now pretty much just makes the Carmen model electric car, named after their family matriarch, which is 100% custom constructed to order and can be yours for generally less than 2 million euros).

See what I mean? How many interesting tangents do we have in that last paragraph alone? And we’re just getting started. I haven’t even mentioned wine yet.

The Mateu family collection is, in a word, impressive. Housed primarily in the former cloister, it contains a re-consecrated chapel that once served as an art school and includes a Ruben tapestry, ceramics and thousands of glass pieces dating from the 15th to 19th centuries, an original 14th century painted wood ceiling, and a honest-to-god original Greco painting. The library was expanded to hold about 100,000 books, some dating back to the 820s AD, with 5,000 of those being editions authored by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. It also contains one of the more impressive wine museum’s that I’ve ever seen, and I have seen most of them.

If you are getting the feeling that cash isn’t much of an issue for the Mateus, you’d be right, but maybe not for the reasons that you think. They have quietly become a unique travel destination, with a Michelin star restaurant (Castell Perelada) that contains a cheese cart that truly qualifies as epic and alone is probably worth the price of dinner there. They also have within their castle walls what has to be one of the more gorgeous casinos on the planet; and unless your last name is “Trump,” a casino is more-or-less a license to print money. Also, they have swans, which for some reason feels pertinent to mention with respect to having a lot of money…

Anyway… The estate’s history of winemaking monks eventually inspired the Mateus to delve into winemaking, which is how we got here. Fast-forward a bit and the Perelade winery, built on the remnants of an old hillside farm on the estate, was two decades in the making, designed by Pritzker Prize winning firm RCR Arquitectes and certified LEED Gold in 2021. Entering the winery for visitors is through a structure they call ” the labyrinth” and is like a Disney theme park ride queue for adults: around each corner of the maze are projected images that give overviews of each of their five vineyard sites, eventually opening up into a walkway that takes you through their tank room, which was inspired by Spain’s cathedrals in its arched roof design, which contains no support columns.

Perelada’s humidity-controlled chai is equally impressive, housing about 4,000 barrels (including French, Acacia, and American oak), itself designed in a barrel shape to resemble wood (though it’s constructed into the hillside out of concrete). They produce about 2 million bottles per year, but also have a “winery within a winery” concept for their higher-end labels, with bottles stored in an area they call “the temple” due to its design (and, presumably, it’s ambient lighting and echoes).

Holy crap, I’m exhausted and we haven’t even gotten to the wines yet! Here are some of the vinous highlights from my visit (with another post to come later highlighting one of their vineyards in particular).

2019 Perelada ‘Gran Claustro’ Brut Nature Cava, Catalonia, $NA

Spending 30 months in bottle, this 60% Chardonnay / 40% Pinot Noir blend is absolutely banging. Brioche, dried honeysuckle flower, dried and fresh red and yellow apples; it all screams high-end. The finish is fresh and insanely long and while the mousse is aggressive, it never comes off as not having elegance.

2023 Perelada ‘Cigonyes’ Blanco, Empordà, $NA

With a light touch of honey, lots of fresh and vibrant tropical fruits, and good minerality, this mix of Garnacha Blanca, Sauvignon Blanc, and Macabeo is fresh, herbal, and offers just a hint of astringent structure. Named for the storks that visit the property, it’s pretty irresistible as a quaffer.

2023 Perelada ‘Nomes’ Garnatxa Negre, Empordà, $NA

Juicy, spicy, and floral, this red has a broad palate that at turns is leathery, polished, and buoyantly fruity. It’s a nice reminder that this area of Catalonia is not just about Cava, and has a star red variety with an expression that isn’t just a copy of nearby Priorat.

2019 Perelada ‘RCR Selection’ Red, Empordà, $NA

This high-end red celebrates the winery’s architects, who had to decide on the vineyard source and final blend. They chose Garnacha from plantings on slate, acidic soils. Apparently, the lead RCR architect is fond of wearing black, so they went with extended maceration to extract more color (as well as tannin and body) from the Grenache. The bottle is wrapped in print that tells the story of the wine, and otherwise is sans labeling. Dried flowers kick off the nose, with juicy and polished plummy fruit coming next. Full-bodied, powerful, and complex in the mouth, this is rich stuff that sports a tron of blue and black fruit action, a very long finish, and impressive structure for a 100% Grenache red.

2020 Perelada ‘1923-2023’ Red, Empordà, $NA

Crafted from Syrah and Garnacha sourced from Finca Garbet (much more coming about that vineyard in a future post), this premium red is a joint project between Perelada’s Javier Suqué and winemaker Delfí Sanahuja, celebrating the company’s centennial. The challenge, according to Sanahuja, was that Suqué prefers younger, fruity reds while Sanahuja tends to like reds that are tighter and more age-worthy. They pretty much nailed the balance with this blend, which offers graphite, rose petals, violets, licorice, leather, black pepper, incense, and yet also hits with powerful body and an explosion of blackberry, raspberry, and blackcurrant. It’s supple, and sultry, yet also grippy and with excellent length.

2019 Perelada ‘5 Finques’ Reserva, Empordà-Costa Brava, $NA

A blend of seven different varieties (Garnacha, Merlot, Cariñena, Cabernet Sauvignon, Monastrell, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc) sourced across five different vineyards, this is (as is their style) a juicy, polished, plummy red, aged in a 50/50 mix of 50% new French and American oak. Herbal spices, red licorice, and red berry action enhance a meaty, tasty mouthfeel that is harmonious as well as approachable.

2020 Perelada Finca La Garriga, Empordà, $NA

Sourced from 80+ year old vines of Carignan grown on sandy soils with river stones, this red has fantastic tangy red fruit flavor, with a toasty, floral, leathery, and spicy nose. Focused, fresh, and pure of heart, it comes off as lovely, ending with ample spices on a long finish.

2023 Perelada Finca La Garriga Blanco, Empordà, $NA

Like its sister red, this white (sourced from 40 year old Chardonnay vines and aged five months in Acacia barrels) offers great purity and finesse. White peaches, apricots, blossoms, pineapples, and pears come in waves. There’s a lovely saline note, and wonderful transparency and citric lift on the palate, ending with a delicious tinge of ripe melon.

2021 Perelada Finca Espolla, Empordà, $NA

A Syrah/Monastrell blend sourced from black slate soils, this is meaty, mineral, and dark of fruit, and stuffed full of dried Mediterranean herb action. It sports richness and depth, with the savory black fruit palate coming off as very rounded and ripe. Pair it with BBQ and you’ll be thoroughly in business.

2022 Perelada Finca Malaveïna, Empordà, $NA

This translates to “bad neighbor” or, less charitably, “bitch next door” and there is probably a story behind that, but it’s one that I am choosing not to get into right now… A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Garnacha, this is a textured, plummy red that offers up blackcurrant and chocolate, underscored nicely with great acidity and balanced structure. Turns out it’s a good neighbor, after all.

Cheers!