In what has long-been suspected by many, today Juvé & Camps announced that they have left the DO Cava to join the association of Corpinnat and raise its total members to 22. And, the winery has confirmed that, despite the date of this news, it’s not an elaborate April Fool’s joke.
This marks what is the biggest loss for DO Cava since the initial Corpinnat group of five left in 2019. Juvé & Camps, in addition to existing for over a century, sees an annual production of around 2.5 million bottles and will nearly double the overall production of Corpinnat. They also own or control 252ha of vineyards in the region.
Even before joining Corpinnat, Juvé & Camps long-met the requirements of farming completely organically and aging their wines far longer than the minimum for Corpinnat of 18 months, let alone the base minimum of nine months for Cava. While working with the local varieties, they do however use a decent amount of both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay which, as a foreign varieties aren’t allowed in large quantities. This can initially be part of the minority percentage allowed under Corpinnat or go into their still wines. It’s important to note as there is a complete cut off of their use slated for 2035 within the association.
As per their press release, Joan Juvé, third generation and president of Juvé & Camps said, “This new stage represents a natural evolution of our history and a reaffirmation of the values that have defined us for more than 100 years: respect for the land, the pursuit of excellence and the desire to clearly communicate who we are and where we come from.” Meritxell Juvé, the fourth generation of the Juvé family and current CEO of Juvé & Camps added, “We want to continue producing wines that are born from the vineyard and faithfully reflect their identity, and at the same time, contribute to the consolidation of high-quality sparkling wines as a recognized and competitive premium category in the world.”
The departure of Juvé & Camps from DO Cava will also have other ramifications in terms of the DO’s attempts to maintain an image of quality as Juvé & Camps had apparently been producing 60% of the Gran Reserva level of Cava wines. Additionally, they held one of the most recognized of the ‘cru’, Cava de Paratge wines, la Capella, which will cease to exist as a certified vineyard as of this departure, although they’ll obviously continue to produce the wine.
This is clearly not lost on DO Cava who, immediately after the announcements were sent from Juvé & Camps and Corpinnat sent out their own press release emphasizing that, “[Cava] is a brand with a strong international presence, present in more than 130 countries, and with a proven ability to adapt and evolve.” But, as shown in the annual Corpinnat reports on this site, Cava is moribund in how it’s structured and the three main wineries of Freixenet, Codorníu, and García Carrión, are focused on massive production that runs counter to those who have left to join Corpinnat.
This was a key item waiting to happen and it will inevitably lead to further departures of the Elaborador Integral segment who meet all the Corpinnat requirements, but as discussed in the Catalunya Report, many have been looking to move on from DO Cava.
There will clearly be more news to come on this front and shortly the new Corpinnat Report will be released on this site.
