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Celler Carles Andreu

Estate cava and still wine from Conca de Barberà, farmed by the Andreu family since the 18th century and bottled under the family name since 1991. All wines from 80 own-farmed hectares across six municipalities in inland Catalonia.

The producer

The Andreu family has cultivated vineyards in Conca de Barberà since the 18th century. Carles Andreu founded the estate winery in 1991, converting Cal Celdoni, a stone manor house dated to 1759, into the first working cellar and keeping its original fermentation vats for the first estate-labelled bottles. The winery sits in Pira, a small farming village in Tarragona province, about ten kilometres west of Montblanc. D.O. Cava registers the estate as an integral producer with organic production: every bottle comes from 80 family-farmed hectares spread across Pira, Forès, Sarral, Solivella, Barberà de la Conca, and Montblanc.

The range centres on Parellada, Macabeu, and Trepat, the three varieties most closely identified with Conca de Barberà. Two white cavas carry zero dosage: the Reserva Brut Nature blends Parellada, Macabeo, and Xarel-Lo for a dry, apple-forward finish; the Reserva Barrica Brut Nature ferments 60% Parellada in new French oak barrels before bottle ageing, adding a toasted, lightly creamy character unusual in cava. The Trepat Rosat Brut, made from the red-skinned grape grown almost exclusively in this denomination, carries 12 grams per litre of dosage and gives pale salmon colour, red cherry, and a rounder finish than the white bottlings.

Known for

Cava from Parellada, Macabeu, and Trepat, including a barrel-fermented zero-dosage Reserva Barrica and a Trepat rosé. All wines estate-grown and organically produced in D.O. Conca de Barberà.

Notable facts

The story

The vats that stayed

In 1991, Carles Andreu moved his family's grape operation into Cal Celdoni and produced the first estate-labelled bottles. The manor house dated to 1759, and the old stone fermentation vats inside had been used to make wine long before Andreu put his name on the result. For those first bottlings, he used the same vessels. Then in 2004, working above the narrow gorge where the Anguera River cuts through Pira, he restored the manor's old corrals and farm warehouses and opened an underground ageing cave beneath them. The buildings that once sheltered animals and stored the harvest now hold cava in bottle, stacked in the dark beneath the same 18th-century stonework that the Andreu family had farmed around for generations.

From the atlas

Celler Carles Andreu

At A Glance

The Producer

The Andreu family has farmed vineyards in Conca de Barberà since the 18th century. Carles Andreu, heir to that long farming line, founded the estate winery bearing his name in 1991 and converted Cal Celdoni, a stone manor house dated to 1759, into its first working cellar. The old fermentation vats stayed in place for the first bottles.

The winery sits in Pira, a small agricultural village in Tarragona province, about ten kilometres west of Montblanc, the main town of the denomination. D.O. Cava registers the estate as an integral producer with organic production: every bottle comes from the family's own 80 hectares, spread across Pira, Forès, Sarral, Solivella, Barberà de la Conca, and Montblanc. The range runs from zero-dosage white cavas to a Trepat rosé, built on the three varieties most closely identified with the Conca de Barberà landscape.

Place

Conca de Barberà is an inland Catalan appellation in Tarragona province, cooler and drier than the coastal wine zones. The continental climate, with warm days and cold nights during the growing season, slows ripening and preserves acidity in the grapes. That acidity is what gives Parellada and Macabeu their particular usefulness in cava, where freshness and a clean finish matter more than weight.

The denomination is one of the permitted production zones for D.O. Cava. Celler Carles Andreu holds integral producer status under both frameworks: D.O. Conca de Barberà for its still wines and D.O. Cava for its sparkling production. The label on a bottle of Carles Andreu cava reflects this dual registration, and the distinction matters because integral producer status means every grape in every bottle was grown on the estate's own parcels, not sourced from co-operatives or third-party growers.

Soil And Site

The estate's 80 hectares run across six municipalities, from Pira and Barberà de la Conca in the west to Sarral, Solivella, Forès, and Montblanc further east. Conca de Barberà's soils are predominantly calcareous, with clay and limestone subsoil typical of the inland Catalan interior. Parellada and Trepat have grown in this landscape for centuries and show marked site attachment: Trepat, in particular, is cultivated almost exclusively within this denomination and loses much of its character when moved elsewhere.

Story

For most of the 20th century, the Andreu family sold its grapes. Carles Andreu changed that in 1991, founding the estate winery and bottling wine under the family name for the first time. The starting point was Cal Celdoni, the 1759 manor house that had served as the family's agricultural centre for generations. Andreu adapted its cellar space and kept the original fermentation vessels to begin cava production.

Thirteen years later, in 2004, he expanded the operation by restoring Cal Celdoni's old corrals and agricultural warehouses above the narrow gorge cut by the Anguera River as it passes through Pira. The restoration created enlarged fermentation and storage rooms and, beneath the restored buildings, a new underground cave for ageing the wines. The same stone complex that once housed animals and stored grain now functions as a modern cava cellar, with the ageing cave dug into the slope above the river.

The 2004 project also locked in a production philosophy: estate-grown fruit, organic farming, and a commitment to the traditional Conca de Barberà varieties. The barrel-fermented Reserva Barrica, released in the vintage explored below, came out of that period and represents the most deliberate departure from standard cava production the range contains.

Vineyards And Cellar

All 80 hectares are farmed organically, without purchased fruit. The spread across six municipalities gives the estate access to different aspects and elevations within the denomination, though the winery uses this to grow its core varieties across the range rather than to make single-vineyard wines.

Parellada, Macabeu, and Trepat make up the bulk of the plantings. Xarel-Lo appears in the Reserva Brut Nature blend alongside Parellada and Macabeo. In the cellar, the standard white cavas follow the conventional cava method: secondary fermentation in bottle, extended lees ageing, and disgorgement before release. The Reserva Barrica breaks from that pattern by fermenting in new French oak barrels before bottle ageing, adding a layer of toasted grain and softness that the tank-fermented wines do not carry. Zero dosage on the Barrica means no corrective sweetness: the wine relies on its Parellada fruit and the oak influence alone.

The Trepat Rosat carries 12 grams per litre of dosage, placing it in the Brut category and giving it measurable sweetness that offsets the grape's natural red-fruit acidity.

Wines

The range divides clearly into three bottles, each built on a different stylistic decision.

The Reserva Brut Nature blends Parellada, Macabeo, and Xarel-Lo with no dosage. Bottle-aged and dry, it runs toward apple, fresh herbs, and a lean acid finish. The zero-dosage commitment means no added sugar at disgorgement; what you taste is the blended fruit and the lees character accumulated during bottle ageing.

The Reserva Barrica Brut Nature is the range's most distinctive bottle. It is 60% Parellada, fermented in new French oak barrels before secondary fermentation in bottle, and carries no dosage. Decanter described the 2013 vintage as medium-bodied, oaked, soft, and subtly flavoured. The oak adds a toasted, slightly creamy quality that standard cava fermented in tank cannot replicate, and the zero dosage keeps the finish dry.

The Cava Trepat Rosat Brut is made from Trepat, the red-skinned grape grown almost exclusively in Conca de Barberà. The 12 g/l dosage places it firmly in Brut territory and gives it a riper, rounder feel than the white bottlings. Trepat produces light-bodied, pale-coloured rosé with red cherry and strawberry character; the dosage rounds the finish rather than masking the grape.

In The Glass

Across the white cavas, Parellada sets the tone: orchard fruit, white flowers, and a cool-climate sharpness that stays present from the first pour to the close of the finish. The Reserva Brut Nature opens with apple and fresh herb aromas, then moves through a lean, dry palate with moderate mousse and a clean, slightly saline end. The acidity lifts rather than cuts; the wine finishes shorter than a Champagne but cleaner than most tank-fermented Spanish sparkling wine.

The Reserva Barrica changes the register. The new French oak brings a toasted, lightly creamy character that sits beneath the Parellada fruit. The mousse feels softer, the palate rounder, and the finish longer because of the oak and the lees contact during bottle ageing. Zero dosage on both white bottlings means any sweetness perception comes entirely from the Parellada itself, which runs riper and fuller than Macabeu or Xarel-Lo in this climate.

The Trepat Rosat shows pale salmon in the glass. The grape gives red cherry, cranberry, and a faint floral note; the 12 g/l dosage adds a soft roundness to the wine. The mousse is fine and persistent.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with the Reserva Brut Nature: Parellada, Macabeo, and Xarel-Lo, zero dosage, bottle-aged. It is the clearest expression of what Conca de Barberà's inland cool-climate Parellada tastes like in sparkling form: dry, fresh, apple-forward, with a clean herb note and a tight acid finish. No dosage sweetness, no oak, no interference. The mousse is moderate rather than aggressive. It is a cava made to taste of its grapes and place rather than to fill a category expectation, and it gives an honest account of what the estate's 80 hectares produce.

Anecdote

In 1991, Carles Andreu moved his family's centuries-old grape operation into Cal Celdoni and produced the first estate-labelled bottles. The manor house dated to 1759, and the old stone fermentation vats inside it had been used to make wine long before Andreu decided to put his name on the result. For the first bottlings, he used those same vessels. Then in 2004, working above the narrow gorge where the Anguera River cuts through Pira, he restored the manor's old corrals and farm warehouses and opened an underground ageing cave beneath them. The buildings that once sheltered animals and stored the harvest now hold cava in bottle, stacked in the dark beneath the same 18th-century stonework.

Final Word

Celler Carles Andreu makes cava from a single landscape: 80 hectares of Conca de Barberà, all organically farmed, all estate-grown. The range is small and deliberate. The Reserva Barrica stands out for barrel fermentation with zero dosage, a combination unusual enough in cava to require a decision rather than a formula. The Cal Celdoni buildings, in use since the 18th century, give the estate a physical continuity that is legible in how the wines are made: traditional varieties, a single appellation, no purchased fruit.

Sources

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