At A Glance
- Field
- Detail
- Region
- Penedès, Spain
- Main grapes
- Xarel·lo, Malvasia de Sitges, Macabeu, Garnatxa, Ull de llebre, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot
- Named wine
- Xarel·lo de Mar
- Defining feature
- Mediterranean vineyards and bittersweet Forvm vinegars
The Producer
Cellers Avgvstvs Forvm works from a small winery in front of the Mediterranean Sea, with vineyards overlooking Sant Vicenç de Calders. Wine sits beside olive oil and wine vinegar under the Forvm brand. The business is better known for its bittersweet Forvm vinegars, while the cellar works with native and international grape varieties through microvinifications.
The wine range includes Xarel·lo, Malvasia de Sitges, Macabeu, Garnatxa, Ull de llebre, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The vineyards, grower agreements and cellar experiments give the producer several ways to work with the grapes of Penedès.
Place
The vineyards lie in Baix Penedès, within the Penedès region and close to the Mediterranean. Coastal influence is part of the vineyard setting, while agreements with local farmers extend the fruit supply beyond the estate's own planting.
The winery's surroundings include vineyards overlooking Sant Vicenç de Calders. The coast sits beside the vines, and the broader Penedès sourcing brings both native and international grape varieties into the range.
Soil And Site
The estate vineyards stand on limestone soils under strong Mediterranean influence. The producer describes the nearby ground as highly calcareous, with daily breezes arriving from the sea.
Calcareous soils drain readily and can retain moisture in the fractured stone. Sea breezes can slow heat buildup around the vines. All estate owned vineyards carry organic certification from the CCPAE.
Story
In 1982, farmer Joan Roca and oenologist Agustí Puig planted ten hectares beside the Via Augusta at Les Deveses. The first planting included Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.
After Agustí Puig left, the business remained with Joan Roca and his son Albert. To round out their own harvest, Joan and Albert made agreements with local farmers covering around twenty additional hectares of the same varieties. The winery now sells about 150,000 bottles a year.
Vineyards And Cellar
Organic certification covers every estate owned vineyard. In the cellar, microvinifications separate native varieties such as Xarel·lo, Malvasia de Sitges, Macabeu, Garnatxa and Ull de llebre from international varieties such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
Avgvstvs NVDE is made with minimal intervention in terracotta amphorae. Terracotta is a porous clay vessel that allows a different exchange between wine and air from stainless steel or glass. The cellar also works with concrete eggs, which provide a rounded fermentation vessel with a neutral flavour contribution.
Wines
The range comprises fourteen wines. Its Microvinifications are limited production wines from single vineyards, based on local varieties such as Malvasia de Sitges and Xarel·lo Vermell. Some of those vineyards are over 120 years old.
The named wines include Xarel·lo de Mar, Xarel·lo +100 and Primer Rosat 2021. Xarel·lo de Mar is a white wine made from Xarel·lo. Primer Rosat 2021 is an equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Avgvstvs NVDE adds an amphora made wine with minimal intervention to the broader range.
In The Glass
Xarel·lo de Mar brings aromas of dried flowers, candied fruit and pastry. The palate is youthful, intense and enveloping, with a spicy, long and persistent taste.
The Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend shows fresh flowers, small red berries and spice on the nose. Its palate is rich and balanced, with a finish that recalls freshly picked plum pulp.
A Bottle To Understand It
Choose Xarel·lo +100. It is fermented in concrete eggs, with part of the wine matured in oak. The wine is dry, with pineapple and citrus, a slight sea breeze note, fine texture and inviting creaminess. Concrete fermentation and oak maturation sit together in the same bottle.
Anecdote
The Peñín Guide awarded Xarel·lo de Mar 92 points. Fewer than 1,600 bottles were made. The wine comes from Xarel·lo vines more than 50 years old, less than two kilometres from the sea, on shallow clay soils. Lees ageing in stainless steel is combined with French oak, followed by four years in bottle.
Final Word
Cellers Avgvstvs Forvm brings Mediterranean vineyards, organic estate farming, native and international grape varieties, and the Forvm vinegar business into one Penedès producer.
Sources
- www.penedesturisme.cat/en/wine-route/wineries/avgvstvs-forvm-winery
- www.catalunya.com/en/continguts/productors/avgvstvs-forvm-17-14002-11135
- www.enterwine.com/en/world-of-wine/wineries/cellers-avgvstvs-forvm
- avgvstvsforvm.com/en/the-vineyards
- avgvstvsforvm.com/en/the-cellar
- avgvstvsforvm.com/en/xarelo-de-mar-best-wines
- maxx-weine.de/products/avgvstvs-xarel-lo-100
- www.thewolfpost.com/archives/45994
- avgvstvsforvm.com/en/quality-and-tradition-in-a-sustainable-winery