From the atlas
Can Descregut
Marc Milà and Arantxa de Cara's family estate in Vilobí del Penedès, farming Xarel.lo and traditional Catalan varieties with organic and biodynamic methods to make Corpinnat sparkling wines from their own vines.
At A Glance
| |
| Region | Penedès, Catalonia |
| Village | Vilobí del Penedès |
| Main grapes | Xarel.lo, Macabeu, Parellada, Xarel.lo Vermell |
| Signature wine | Descregut Brut Nature Corpinnat |
| Defining feature | Three-generation family estate, now estate-bottled and organically farmed |
The Producer
For three generations, the family behind Can Descregut grew grapes in the Penedès hills and sold the base wine in bulk to industrial cava producers. In 2005, Marc Milà and Arantxa de Cara changed that. They kept the same vineyards, the same Catalan varieties, and the same hilltop terrain at Vilobí del Penedès, and began making and bottling wine themselves. The estate now holds Corpinnat membership, a certification requiring organic farming, hand harvesting, and long lees ageing from vineyards within a defined zone of the Penedès interior.
The winemaking approach adds no sugars, keeps sulphur minimal, fines gently with bentonite, and skips hard filtration. The cellar aim, stated plainly on the estate's own materials, is to intervene as little as possible.
Place
Vilobí del Penedès sits in the interior of the Penedès, the broad Catalan wine region southwest of Barcelona. The vineyards range from 200 to 500 metres in altitude, a spread that creates distinct microclimates and soil types across the estate's different parcels. At the lower elevations the climate is warmer and the soils vary; higher up, temperatures drop more sharply at night, which keeps acidity in the grapes through a longer growing season. This altitude range also shapes what varieties the estate grows: Xarel.lo, Macabeu, and Parellada are the traditional Catalan white grapes suited to these inland hills, with Xarel.lo Vermell and Merlot filling out the range.
Story
Marc Milà grew up on a farm whose purpose was defined by what it supplied to others. Three generations of the family had farmed grapes on the Penedès hills and channelled the harvest into the bulk base-wine trade for large cava houses. The grapes were good enough for somebody else to build a product around. In 2005, Milà and de Cara decided to build their own. That decision carried a set of commitments that the previous model did not require: estate vinification, hand harvesting, a conversion to organic farming that would eventually include biodynamic treatments, and the patience to age wine on its lees for more than two years before disgorgement. The family did not change the land or the varieties. They changed what happened next.
Vineyards And Cellar
The vineyards are planted to traditional Catalan white varieties, principally Xarel.lo, Macabeu, Parellada, and Xarel.lo Vermell, with Merlot also in the ground. The estate farms organically with biodynamic treatments and harvests by hand. All base wines are vinified at the estate.
In the cellar, the base wine ages on its own lees for six months before secondary fermentation in bottle. The wine then matures for a further 26 months before disgorgement. There is no added sugar, sulphur is kept minimal, and the wine is fined gently with bentonite rather than filtered hard. No dosage sugar is added at disgorgement, so the wine is classified Brut Nature.
Wines
The estate's sparkling wines carry the Corpinnat designation and include the Descregut Brut Nature, the Memoria Corpinnat, and the Fumissola Corpinnat, each representing different vintage expressions or parcel selections within the estate's holdings. The Brut Nature is the clearest statement of the house method: Catalan varieties, long lees ageing, no dosage. Among the still wines, Órbites Improbables and Can Descregut Vermel offer white wine expressions of the estate's Penedès parcels, while Atrevit Rosé rounds out the range. The Fem Hektar selection is available as a mixed case.
In The Glass
The Descregut Brut Nature Corpinnat pours a golden yellow with fine, persistent bubbles. On the nose it opens with pastry aromas and ripe orchard fruit, the character that comes from the extended lees contact. On the palate, the fruit is lean and concentrated, with ripe stone and citrus notes sitting in close balance with bright acidity. The texture is creamy without being heavy, a quality built by the 32 months of total lees ageing rather than dosage sweetness. The mousse is lively and the finish holds length. There is no residual sugar to cushion the acidity, so what carries the wine is the creaminess of the lees and the ripe fruit weight of the Catalan varieties.
A Bottle To Understand It
The Descregut Brut Nature Corpinnat is the right starting point. It is a traditional-method sparkling wine from Xarel.lo, Macabeu, and Parellada, made without dosage sugar and aged for 32 months in contact with the lees. The wine's creamy mousse and ripe fruit arrive without any sweetness to soften the acidity, so the balance comes entirely from the farming and the ageing time. Golden in the glass, with pastry and ripe stone fruit on the nose, a lean and vivid palate, and a finish that stays clean and long, it shows what the estate's organic viticulture and patient cellar work actually produce.
Anecdote
For three generations, the family farmed the same Penedès hills and handed the harvest off as bulk base wine. The grapes left the property before they became anything. In 2005, Marc Milà and Arantxa de Cara reversed the logic: the grapes would stay, the wine would be made and bottled at the estate, and the labels would carry the family name rather than a large house's brand. That shift required committing to hand harvesting, organic farming, and a lees ageing programme that holds bottles in the cellar for more than two years before they can be sold. The first own-label Corpinnat wines were the end product of a decision to stop supplying the industrial cava trade and start building something that belonged entirely to the estate.
Final Word
Can Descregut makes Corpinnat sparkling wine from the same Penedès hills the family has farmed for three generations, now with organic viticulture, hand harvesting, and 32 months of lees ageing in place of a bulk supply arrangement that ran for decades before 2005.
Sources
- https://descregut.com/en/
- https://enofylzwineblog.com/2021/02/27/a-taste-of-can-descregut-grower-spanish-sparkling-wine-from-the-corazon-del-penedes-worldwinetravel/
- https://www.catalanwinesusa.com/wineries/can-descregut
- https://descregut.com/en/producte/descregut-corpinnat/
- https://www.vino-vi.com/en/sparkling-wine-champagne/3372-descregut-brut-nature-reserva-2023.html