CVNE buys historic Cava producer

Rioja giant CVNE has made its first foray into Cava with the purchase of Roger Goulart.

Compañia Vinicola del Norte de España (CVNE), one of Rioja’s oldest family-controlled wineries, has announced that it has bought Cava DO producer Roger Goulart. Financial details were not disclosed.

‘We’ve been looking at wineries outside of Rioja for a while and are thrilled to announce that Roger Goulart will join our portfolio,’ said CVNE’s CEO, Victor Urrutia.

‘We plan to keep the historical and cultural legacy of the winery alive.’

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Roger Goulart’s history stretches back as far as 1882, when its founders, the Canal family, formed part of a new wave of Penedès winemakers producing traditional method sparkling wines, which became the signature style of Cava.

The Cava bodega will now join four Rioja producers — Cune, Imperial, Viña Real and Continuo — within CVNE’s collection of wineries.

Although it’s now a public company, CVNE is still run by descendants of its original founders, brothers Eusebio and Raimundo Real de Asúa, who established it in 1879.

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Rioja and Cava have since emerged as pioneers of Spanish wine quality, and both have driven export market growth.

New developments in their classification systems in the past 12 months include Cava gaining its first 12 ‘grand cru’ sites and Rioja introducing ‘Vinedos Singulares’, akin to a single vineyard category.

However, some producers worry that the new standards don’t go far enough to properly detail the quality and terroir of vineyard sites.

‘This should be the beginning of long process to turn round the image of Cava,’ said Sarah Jane Evans MW, Spanish wine expert and co-chair of the Decanter World Wine Awards.

‘It’s a move in the right direction, and clearly it has been difficult to get a consensus on reforms, but we need to go further’, said Dominio de Pingus winemaker Peter Sisseck, referring to Rioja following agreement to recognise individual sites and zones.

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