Xarel·lo 2023

Laïa Esmel and Jaume Vilaseca of CasaJou work with their grower friend Oriol Roig on Celler “Dumenge,” which means Sunday in Catalan. Dumenge wines are vibrant, stylish Mediterranean pet-nats from local grapes like Xarel-lo, Sumoll and Grenache Noir — indeed, all the cuvées have Sunday fun-day kind of vibes…

Dumenge “Yellow” is named for the white Xarel-lo grape. Grapes are grown 1.5 hectare single parcel above the traditional Cava town of Sant Saturnin di Anoia, are manually harvested, pressed and fermentation takes place in tank. The wine is bottled with about 20 g/l residual sugar remaining and is aged for 12 months on lees before disgorgement.

Region: Penedès, Spain
Grapes: Xarel·lo
Alc : 11 %

About the winemaker: Laïa and Jaume are up-and-coming young winemakers crafting serious sparkling wine in the Penedès, the famous Cava-producing region in the hills high above Barcelona overlooking the Mediterranean. Their winery is split into two projets: Casajou is focused on making precise, elegant Champagne method sparkling wines from Laïa’s family vineyards. And with their friend Oriol, they are making pet-nats from newly-planted vines under the label Celler Dumenge. Dumenge means Sunday in Catalan and those pet-nats are perfect for all-day weekend drinking (a sort of “Sunday Fun-day” vibe...).