Spain · Penedès

Alta Alella

Family-owned Catalan estate farming 68 organic hectares inside a natural park ten kilometres from Barcelona, producing zero-sulfite Cava and Pansa Blanca still wines from white granite sauló soils.

The producer

Alta Alella grows Pansa Blanca, the local name for Xarel·lo, on sauló: white granite-based sand with low pH, almost no organic matter, and fast drainage. The root reaches into decomposed granite for mineral uptake, and the grape shows it. Wines from these parcels open with saline mineral and tight citrus, with firm acidity that comes from the soil rather than any winemaker intervention. The estate farms 68 hectares across three properties inside the Serralada de Marina Natural Park, ten kilometres north of Barcelona, and has used no added sulfites since 2006.

Founder and enologist Josep Maria Pujol-Busquets and his wife Cristina Guillén built the estate from a single 4-hectare property to its current scale over three decades. Their daughter Mireia Pujol-Busquets now leads the operation. Two-thirds of production is Cava, aged on lees from 15 to 60 months and bottled without sulfite additions. The still wine range runs through DO Alella under the same zero-sulfite discipline. Around 50 different wines leave the cellar each year, each batch vinified separately to keep every parcel and method legible in the bottle.

Known for

Organic, sulfite-free Cava and Pansa Blanca still wines from white granite sauló soils in DO Alella.

Notable facts

The story

No sulfites, full range, one decision

In 2006, Josep Maria Pujol-Busquets stopped adding sulfites to every wine the estate made. Not to a test batch, not to a single cuvée launched under a new label. To everything: the Cavas, the still whites, the full production run. The estate was already certified organic. Removing sulfites was the next position, taken in one decision and applied from that vintage forward. The cellar adapted: without sulfites to catch microbial problems, hygiene, temperature control, and lees management had to be tighter at every stage. Six years later, when the family created Celler de les Aus as a sister winery for natural wines with minimum intervention, zero-sulfite production was already embedded in the main estate's working method. The sister project extended a commitment that had already been running for the better part of a decade.

From the atlas

Alta Alella

At A Glance

Estate: Alta Alella Country: Spain Region: Catalonia Appellation: DO Alella / Cava Key Grape: Pansa Blanca (Xarel·lo) Farming: Certified organic, no added sulfites since 2006 Style: Zero-dosage Cava, mineral still whites

The Producer

Alta Alella sits ten kilometres from Barcelona inside the Serralada de Marina Natural Park, which makes it one of the few serious wine estates in Europe that a city dweller could reach before lunch. The founding is not incidental to the wine: enologist Josep Maria Pujol-Busquets and his wife Cristina Guillén took over the Can Genís estate, farmed organically from the start, and in 2006 removed added sulfites from every wine they made, still and sparkling alike. Their daughter Mireia Pujol-Busquets now leads the estate.

The numbers tell a particular kind of story. The estate farms 68 hectares across three properties: Can Genís above the sea, 15 hectares in the neighbouring village of Tiana, and additional parcels in Vall de Rials on the far side of the appellation. From that land the cellar produces around 50 different wines each year through micro-vinification, separating parcels, vessels, and fermentation methods to keep each batch separate. Two-thirds of production is Cava; one-third is still wine under the DO Alella appellation.

Place

DO Alella is a small appellation on the coastal hills north of Barcelona, caught between the city's expansion and the Serralada de Marina natural park boundary. That boundary has kept the agricultural land intact: the park perimeter prevents suburban development from absorbing the vineyards, which is why 68 hectares of certified-organic estate vineyard can exist this close to one of Europe's busiest cities.

The appellation sits at between 100 and 350 metres elevation on slopes that face south and southwest toward the Mediterranean. The authorised white varieties are Pansa Blanca, Garnatxa Blanca, Picapoll, Parellada, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc, with red and rosé production also permitted. Pansa Blanca, the local name for Xarel·lo, is the grape that runs through almost every bottle Alta Alella produces, from the Cava to the still white range.

Soil And Site

The defining soil across Alta Alella's three properties is sauló: white granite-based sand with low pH, low limestone content, almost no organic matter, and fast drainage. Vines on sauló grow without water stress in the sense of waterlogging, but they also grow without nutrient cushion. The root has to reach into decomposed granite for mineral uptake, which translates directly into the wine. Pansa Blanca on sauló shows a briny, saline quality alongside bright acidity, tighter than the same grape grown on heavier soils. The low pH of the sand reinforces the grape's natural acidity without the vine needing to work against limestone. The drainage means the cellar is working with fully ripe, healthy grapes even in warm coastal vintages.

Story

Josep Maria Pujol-Busquets trained as an enologist before he and Cristina Guillén took on Can Genís. Organic farming was the commitment from the first vintage. Over three decades the estate expanded from 4 to 68 hectares, adding Tiana and Vall de Rials as the family acquired parcels that matched the sauló terroir they had started with.

In 2006, Josep Maria stopped adding sulfites to the entire range. No staged rollout, no experimental cuvée first. The Cavas, the still whites, the whole cellar moved at once. That decision changed the technical demands of winemaking at the estate: without sulfites as a safety net, fermentation hygiene, cellar temperature, and lees management all carry more weight. The range since 2006 is built on those disciplines.

In 2012, the family created Celler de les Aus as a separate winery within the estate, dedicated to natural wines with minimum intervention. By then, zero-sulfite production had been the baseline at Alta Alella for six years. Celler de les Aus was not a departure. It was the next step from an estate that had already committed to working without the most common winemaking additive in the industry.

Vineyards And Cellar

Organic certification runs across all 68 hectares. In the cellar, micro-vinification is the working method: parcels, varieties, and vessels are kept separate so each batch can be evaluated and bottled individually. The approximately 50 wines produced annually are a direct result of this separation rather than blending into a smaller number of larger cuvées.

Fermentation is spontaneous across the range, relying on native yeasts from the vineyard rather than inoculated commercial strains. For the Cava, traditional method secondary fermentation happens in bottle, with lees ageing ranging from 15 to 60 months depending on the wine. For zero-dosage Brut Nature wines, there is no added sugar at disgorgement, so the Cava's character comes entirely from the grape, the soil, the lees contact, and the vintage. The Cau d'en Genís still white uses cement egg vats rather than oak or stainless steel: the clay-based cement maintains a stable temperature and allows micro-oxygenation, with natural bâtonnage stirring the lees as the vessel's curved shape circulates the wine.

Wines

Cava accounts for two-thirds of Alta Alella's production and spans a range from 15 months on lees to extended reserves aged up to 60 months. All are made without added sulfites. The Mirgin line runs from Brut Nature to more extended reserve levels, with the Mirgin Reserva Brut Nature sitting at minimum 18 months on lees and zero dosage. Bone-dry, with tight yellow fruit, a saline edge, and a chalky finish that comes from the granite sand rather than any oak contact. Higher reserve tiers add complexity without sweetness: longer lees ageing builds autolytic depth while the grape's natural acidity keeps everything linear.

The still wine range under DO Alella is led by Cau d'en Genís Blanc, 100% Pansa Blanca fermented and aged in clay-based cement egg vats. Where the Cava shows the grape in its sparkling form, brisk and mineral, the Cau d'en Genís shows it with more texture: the cement ageing rounds the mouthfeel while natural bâtonnage keeps the lees integrated through the mid-palate. Briny, with green herb and saline mineral on the nose, full mid-palate weight, and a clean acid line through the finish.

Celler de les Aus adds a third layer: sulphite-free still and sparkling wines made from organic estate fruit with minimum intervention. These are produced separately from the main Alta Alella range and carry their own label, but draw on the same sauló parcels and the same zero-sulfite discipline.

In The Glass

Across both the Cava and still wine ranges, the sauló character is the thread. Pansa Blanca on granite sand gives wines that open with saline mineral and yellow citrus, with green herb running underneath. The acidity is firm and mouth-watering rather than sharp, which is characteristic of the grape on this soil type.

In the Mirgin Reserva Brut Nature, the mousse is fine and persistent, the fruit tight, and the finish chalky and long. Lees ageing at 18 months adds some breadth without softening the acid line. Zero dosage means the wine has no sweetness buffer: what arrives in the glass is the grape, the granite, and the time on lees, nothing added.

In Cau d'en Genís Blanc, the cement egg brings a broader register. The nose has the same saline mineral quality but with more stone fruit alongside the citrus. The palate is rounder, with lees-driven texture filling the mid-palate before the acidity sharpens the finish. Both wines carry the house signature: freshness from the soil, weight from the method, no oak, no sulfites.

A Bottle To Understand It

Mirgin Reserva Brut Nature is the right first bottle. It is 100% Xarel·lo, traditional method Cava, aged minimum 18 months on lees and bottled without dosage. The grape and the soil do all the work. Saline mineral on the nose, tight citrus and a trace of green herb, fine mousse, a chalky finish that lingers. No added sugar, no oak, no sulfites. This is what Pansa Blanca from sauló granite tastes like when the cellar commits to not covering it up. It shows the estate's use of Xarel·lo, lees ageing, and zero dosage in one bottle.

Anecdote

In 2006, Josep Maria Pujol-Busquets stopped adding sulfites to every wine the estate made. Not to a test batch, not to a single cuvée launched under a new label. To everything: the Cavas, the still whites, the full production run. The estate was already certified organic; removing sulfites was the next position, taken in one decision and applied from that vintage forward. The cellar adapted: without sulfites to catch microbial problems, hygiene, temperature control, and lees management had to be tighter at every stage. Six years later, when the family created Celler de les Aus as a sister winery for natural wines with minimum intervention, zero-sulfite production was already embedded in the main estate's working method. The sister project extended a commitment that had already been running for the better part of a decade.

Final Word

Alta Alella farms vines on sauló soils ten kilometres from Barcelona and produces Pansa Blanca Cava and still wine without added sulfites since 2006.

Sources

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