Recaredo celebrates one hundred years of history

• In 1924, Josep Mata Capellades, Recaredo’s founder, took his first steps in the world of quality sparkling wines as an apprentice disgorger and bottle stirrer in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia.
• To honour his memory, the second and third generations of the family have worked together to produce the corpinnat Homenatge a Josep Mata Capellades 2004 in a special edition of 2,850 bottles, all numbered.
• Conscious of the importance of caring for and cultivating the vineyard in order to obtain wine of the highest quality, Josep Mata Capellades created his own style and became a pioneer in the production of long-aged Brut Nature sparkling wines.

Recaredo, a family of vinegrowers and producers of quality sparkling wine and one of the founding wineries of Corpinnat, is celebrating in 2024 the centenary of a remarkable journey devoted to quality and truly terroir-driven sparkling wines. In 1924, Josep Mata Capellades, the founder of Recaredo, got his start in the exciting world of sparkling wine as an apprentice bottle stirrer and disgorger in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia. He left behind the family tradition of making ceramics in the kiln where Recaredo’s cellars are now, and embarked on a new venture that has captivated three generations of the family to this day.

To mark these hundred years of history and honour the memory of Josep Mata Capellades, the second and third generations of the Recaredo family have created Homenatge a Josep Mata Capellades 2004, a corpinnat that is being released after 224 months of ageing (18 years and 8 months) in a unique limited edition of 2,850 numbered bottles. Ton Mata, a member of the third generation of the Recaredo family, explains: “This corpinnat represents the essence of Recaredo, based on respect for the land and on keeping alive the memory of the people who came before us. After 224 months of ageing, the wine presents a fresh and balanced acidity with very well-integrated bubbles, conveying the complexity of an extremely long-aged sparkling wine of outstanding character that retains its freshness and the expressiveness produced by the passage of time.”

The grapes used to make Homenatge a Josep Mata Capellades 2004 come from old Macabeu and Xarel·lo vineyards planted in the north-eastern part of Alt Penedès, around the Bitlles Valley Highlands. The soil is deep, sedimentary and highly calcareous, with a clay loam texture that facilitates water retention and gives a clear identity to wines made from the grapes grown there. Josep Mata, a member of the third generation of the Recaredo family, commented: “It’s very exciting for the family to be able to share with all wine lovers and all our friends, who have always shown us their affection, a Recaredo corpinnat in memory of our grandfather and all the work he did, which today allows us to continue to pursue his dream: to create terroir wines that express the distinctive characteristics of the Penedès region – wines with great ageing potential that retain all their freshness after 224 months.”

Josep Mata Capellades: an affable and charismatic character

During his early years in the trade, Josep Mata Capellades combined his passion for the craft of disgorging with professional football, playing one season with RCD Espanyol and five with Centre d’Esports Sabadell Futbol Club. In order to successfully reconcile the two worlds, he began working as a disgorger on an hourly basis, practising his trade in various wineries where he also trained several professionals. Thanks to his friends in the world of football, he began to land his first orders for sparkling wine, and this was the beginning of an exciting story of entrepreneurship, forged through hard work and great charisma, that would make him a trailblazer in the nascent sparkling wine industry.

He decided to call the winery Recaredo, after his father, Recaredo Mata Figueras, and in the 1940s he took up a pickaxe and a shovel and built the cellars beneath the family home in the historic centre of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia. Thanks to his affable and charismatic personality, the Recaredo brand began to gain recognition through word of mouth and a reputation for doing good work, with humility and rigour. A sign on the door of the winery proclaimed: “You can visit the winery every day, including Sundays and public holidays.” And so a stream of loyal customers and friends started to support the brand by buying the famous Reservadísimo, Recaredo Extra, Reserva Particular, Cava Reservada, and other wines, which at the time could only be purchased directly from the winery.

Conscious of the importance of caring for and cultivating the vineyard in order to obtain wine of the highest quality, he created his own style and became a pioneer in the production of long-aged Brut Nature sparkling wines. He was also committed to craftsmanship and ageing with natural cork stoppers at a time when most wineries were opting to mechanise the disgorging process and use crown caps.

From the 1960s onwards, he worked with his sons, Josep and Antoni Mata Casanovas, to consolidate Recaredo’s reputation as a byword for rigour, quality and, above all, passion for excellence. They came up with what were bold new ideas at the time, such as exploring long ageing in the bottle. At the same time, out of respect and admiration for terroir wines, they steered the winery towards the production of sparkling wines that could express the essence of unique plots and estates. From the 1990s on, members of the third generation of the family began to work in the winery, setting in motion an enriching process in which the experience and know-how of the older generation was complemented by the younger generation’s new ideas and drive to move forward and learn.

More information ‘Homenatge a Josep Mata Capellades 2004’ – Youtube.