Why it matters
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 and vineyards
Where the wines begin
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.
In the cellar
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 to know
The range in view
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.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
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.