From the atlas
Dominio de la Vega
A San Antonio de Requena producer working across DO Cava and DO Utiel-Requena, with high plateau vineyards and a restored historic cellar.
At A Glance
| Field | Detail |
| Region | Utiel-Requena, Valencia |
| Village | San Antonio de Requena |
| Appellations | DO Cava for sparkling wines, DO Utiel-Requena for still wines |
| Named grapes | Pinot Noir, Bobal and Chardonnay |
| Signature wine | Brut Reserva Especial |
| Defining feature | Restored underground facilities used for Cava ageing |
The Producer
Several winegrowing families involved in the early development of Cava in Requena came together to form Dominio de la Vega. The producer works with grapes from four named estates and gives preference to older vineyards when interpreting its sites.
Its bottles divide between sparkling wines under DO Cava and still wines under DO Utiel-Requena. Reserva Especial is the named Cava cuvée, while the vineyard holdings include Pinot Noir, Bobal and Chardonnay planted in very different parcels.
Place
Dominio de la Vega is based in San Antonio de Requena, Valencia, within the DO Utiel-Requena. The winery lies 70 kilometres west of Valencia, inland from the Mediterranean Sea.
The appellation split is printed in the wine categories. DO Cava covers the sparkling wines, while DO Utiel-Requena covers the still wines. One winery therefore works under two designations, each tied to a different style of wine.
Soil And Site
The vineyards occupy a high plateau of clay and limestone, with elevations ranging from 600 to 900 metres. The climate is continental with Mediterranean influence, bringing very cold winters, hot dry summers and scarce rainfall.
Cerro Tocón is a 1.4 hectare vineyard beside the winery, planted with trellised Pinot Noir vines described as 18 years old. La Muela consists of small plots enclosed by mountains, with limestone soil and cordon trained Bobal vines more than 50 years old.
El Pinarejo is a 4.7 hectare Chardonnay vineyard at 850 metres, with south facing exposure, shallow limestone soil and low yields. Losilla has 114 years of vineyard history across 4.5 hectares of loam soil, with ungrafted vines.
Story
A new stage began with Dominio de la Vega's green transition project, intended to encourage winemakers across the region to pursue environmentally friendly social and economic development. Designer Inma Bermúdez collaborated on the winery's new ecological stage.
Research became another direct investment. Over 10 years, the winery invested €700,000 in national and international research projects. Its work included the Zénit-Demèter climate project and Primum Bobal, which assessed the phenolic condition of Bobal wines from different areas.
Vineyards And Cellar
The grapes come from La Vega, El Pinarejo, La Muela and Losilla, allowing the cellar to work with vineyards that differ in variety, soil, altitude and vine age. The producer's preference for older vineyards keeps those differences visible in the fruit entering the winery.
The historic cellar occupies the restored Casa del Conde, a late nineteenth century house winery in San Antonio de Requena. Modern technology operates alongside the original presses and underground tanks, where Cava bottles undergo long ageing.
Wines
The range divides into sparkling Reserva Cavas and still wines. The sparkling wines carry DO Cava, while the still wines carry DO Utiel-Requena. Reserva Cavas mature for more than 18 months on their lees, the fine yeast sediment left after fermentation that can add creaminess and pastry notes to sparkling wine.
Brut Reserva Especial is the named sparkling cuvée. The still wine range draws on the regional vineyards, including sites planted with Bobal, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
In The Glass
The current Reserva Especial is light yellow, with fine integrated bubbles. Its bouquet combines pastry, fresh white fruit, toast and vanilla. The palate is rounded and velvety, with good volume and balanced fizz, leading to a long, creamy finish.
The 2014 bottling was vinous, round and full bodied, with 30% Chardonnay adding stone fruit notes to Macabeo. Partial fermentation in French oak gave that vintage a deeper golden colour and nutty oak character, while some oxidative ageing rounded the palate.
A Bottle To Understand It
The 2019 Brut Reserva Especial is the bottle to open first. It is a sparkling wine under DO Cava, with a vintage, a cuvée name and the Brut designation on the label.
Brut places the wine in a dry sparkling style. The bottle also shows how the house's sparkling wines sit beside its still wines, which carry the DO Utiel-Requena designation.
Anecdote
From 2008 to 2012, Dominio de la Vega joined Zénit-Demèter, a climate change research consortium with a €20 million budget and 25 wineries. The project examined how changing conditions affect vineyards and wine production. Dominio de la Vega was one of the participating wineries, alongside 24 others. The consortium formed part of the winery's wider research work, which also included projects on Bobal, yeast and Cava.
Final Word
Dominio de la Vega joins early Requena Cava families to vineyards on a high clay and limestone plateau. Its cellar keeps Cava ageing in the restored Casa del Conde, while its bottles divide between sparkling and still wines under two appellations.
Sources
1. https://dominiodelavega.com/en/our-land/ 2. https://dominiodelavega.com/en/organics-cavas-and-wines/ 3. https://dominiodelavega.com/en/research/ 4. https://dominiodelavega.com/en/cavas/ 5. https://utielrequena.org/nuestras-bodegas/dominio-de-la-vega/ 6. https://dominiodelavega.com/en/products/reserva-especial/ 7. https://www.bodeboca.com/vino/dominio-vega-brut-reserva-especial-2019 8. https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews/spain/penedes/dominio-de-la-vega-cava-brut-reserva-especial-2014-14891/