Bodegues Sumarroca has just released Letàrgia Gran Reserva Brut Nature 2012, a DO Cava with a decade of bottle aging that they define as "sober, elegant and with character and structure". It wants to be a bet to value long-aging cavas. The lethargy time, the period of rest and rest in the vineyard, gives this cava its name. They also ensure that Letàrgia is "the result of the curiosity, passion and enthusiasm of the oenologist Òscar Llombart", who joined Sumarroca during the 1997 harvest. His attitude focused on research and improvement in the vineyard and in the production process led to taking responsibility for quality and the environment first, and then for the production of red and rosé wines. In 2012 he was appointed responsible for the production of cavas and white wines. His concern led him to distinguish the best Sumarroca plots from the traditional white varieties of Penedès to make a long-aging cava.
One of the most ambitious challenges that Òscar Llombart set himself to achieve a high-quality product was “to understand exactly how the characteristics of a vintage, such as rainfall, temperatures and thermal amplitude, could affect a vintage, and therefore both to the end result”. 2012 was marked by low rainfall, but well distributed. There was a good maturation, which was slow. The best Macabeo, Xarel·lo and Parellada plots were selected to produce a product “destined to rest in the cellars for a long period”.
The Sumarroca winemaker acknowledges that this cava is "one of the ones I feel most proud of". He adds that “it was a very significant challenge at a time when my responsibilities were changing a lot. Following his growing evolution during these 10 years has been an impulse to be able to generate new challenges ”. Of this vintage, 4,299 bottles are produced. Jordi Sumarroca, director of the company, affirms that they are committed to the preservation of the territory "putting their hearts in". And he adds that "it makes no sense to produce a product without territory". Joaquim Tosas, the general manager of the winery, affirms that the best grapes were chosen to obtain "the best possible cava". Its berries are harvested by hand in 20-kilo boxes on the Sumarroca farm, in vineyards planted between 35 and 45 years ago. Selected yeasts were used for fermentation.
The Letàrgia 2012 cava, made with the white varieties typical of Penedès (35% Xarel lo, 35% Parellada and 30% Macabeo), is straw yellow in color with golden reflections. With tiny bubbles and a very well integrated carbonic. It is very expressive already in the olfactory phase. It shows notes that are reminiscent of baked apple, toasted bread and brioche. It also shows hints of fennel and chamomile, as well as raw almond. And it stands out for its dryness, offset by the ripe fruit, and for its good acidity. It is a long-aging cava that has retained its freshness. It does not appear so long aging. Jordi Sumarroca likes to pair this cava with a black rooster from Penedès roasted with prunes. Joaquim Tosas prefers it with the Wellington squab from Via Veneto, and the oenologist Òscar Llombart with a sea bass with mushroom sauce. It is also ideal with two proposals from restaurants in Sant Pau d'Ordal: the mute duck magret from Penedès with peach, strawberries and walnuts from Cal Pere del Maset or the cod tripe with chickpeas from l'Anoia from Cal Xim.
The Sumarroca Group, founded in 1983 by Carles Sumarroca and his wife Núria Claverol, has 465 hectares of farms in the Alt Penedès (Subirats and Sant Sadurní d'Anoia), Baix Penedès (Heretat Sabarté in Banyeres del Penedès) and Anoia (Piera). They are multi-crops that are worked following ecological and sustainable agriculture. Since its inception, they have cultivated the vineyard in a spirit of respect for the environment, with minimal phytosanitary treatments and pursuing sustainability. In fact, they were among the first in the Penedès to introduce sexual confusion with pheromones in the vineyard with the aim of avoiding, by natural means, the woodworm of the vine caused by the grapevine moth. In 2014 they made the decision to officially certify themselves as organic. And in the 2018 vintage they were able to indicate it with the official organic wine label and that of the CCPAE (certifying body in Catalonia). In this way, they do not use synthetic chemicals (or fertilizers or pesticides).
In Sumarroca, they promote various actions for the recovery of native flora and fauna. With this objective, among other initiatives, they are part of the Amics de les Abelles Association. With the Redicat project, they have become one of the receiving entities for bees that come from rescues in urban environments, through nest boxes that act as bait. In this way, they stop being an inconvenience to the city and, in turn, are removed from danger by placing them in an environment that is more favorable to the needs of the species. Bees also have an important pollinating function and maintaining the balance of the ecosystem. At the same time, to curb the growing presence of velutin or Asian wasps (an invasive species that preys on honey bees) they have adopted a series of measures on their farm, such as installing traps around their swarms.
The Barcelona Provincial Council awarded them for the project 'Wine tourism and the repopulation of flora and fauna'. This initiative makes visitors aware of the actions for the recovery of native flora and fauna, while raising awareness about the importance of their own ecosystems in the environment. His Piera farm is part of the Natura 2000 Network. This European network of natural spaces aims to make the protection of species and natural and semi-natural habits compatible with the human activity that takes place, keeping species and habitats in good state of conservation and avoiding its deterioration.
They also have the SMETA (SedexMembers Ethical Trade Audit) certification, which ensures quality work from their team and a sustainable impact of their activity on the environment. It is an ethical audit methodology that covers all aspects of responsible business practice, allowing you to evaluate the workplace and offer greater transparency about your supply chain. From Sumarroca they affirm that they work "to make the philosophy of their creator a reality: to improve the quality of production to obtain innovative wines and cavas, with character and balance". They add that "we combine tradition, feeling and knowledge to innovate without losing the personality and style of the winery". In addition to the El Rebato de Subirats neighborhood winery (Molí Coloma) where they make wines covered by the DO Penedès and cavas, they have the companies Aranca (vegetable preserves) and Molí Coloma (extra virgin olive oil from Penedès and Priorat). They have also opened up to wine tourism and business tourism with a wide offer, ranging from tastings to networking sessions or parties. They are a pioneer company in the integration of accessible tourism and in the adaptation of wine tourism activities for people with functional diversity.
The company's objective, they say, "is not focused on large-scale production or on competing with larger-volume wineries." They currently make 1.2 million bottles of cava a year, and 1.3 of still wines. Of the cavas they export 75% of the total, mainly to Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. And they export 18% of their still wines, mainly to Canada, Germany and the Netherlands. The president of the company, Carles Sumarroca, maintains that "turnover is vanity and profit is a virtue." He affirms that it has taken him 60 years to do what he likes the most: “become a farmer again”.
