Known among Catalan growers as a master of Xarel-lo, Joan Rubio left a senior post at one of Penedes' most respected Cava houses to make wine on his own terms at his family home, Cal Tiques.
Backstory
Rubio trained at the Tarragona school of viticulture and returned to the family estate, at first selling grapes to the large Cava producers of the area. A meeting with Ton Mata of the Recaredo winery changed his path, and he spent some 15 years there, rising to technical director and introducing biodynamic principles. During that time he met Pierre Masson, a leading figure in biodynamic viticulture. In 2015 he struck out on his own, returning with his wife Angels to the family vineyards.
The Region
The Cal Tiques project is based in Santa Margarida i els Monjos, in the Alt Penedes of Catalonia, Spain. This is classic Penedes country, the heartland of Xarel-lo and the native white varieties that long fed the Cava trade.
Vineyards and Farming
Rubio farms 9 hectares of family vineyards committed fully to organic and biodynamic methods; the estate has been registered with the CCPAE, the Catalan organic council, since 2009. He works native varieties including Xarel-lo, Macabeo, Sumoll, Malvasia de Sitges, Ull de Llebre and Monastrell.
Winemaking
In the cellar he keeps intervention to a minimum, fermenting with native yeasts and aging in amphorae to preserve purity and let the terroir speak.
The Wines
His range includes La Petita, a white blend, along with bottlings such as Essencial and an ancestral-method sparkling, all rooted in the native grapes of the Penedes.
