THE ESTATE

ORIOL ROSSELL

Our History

ORIOL ROSSELL

1497

THE BEGINNINGS

Pere Joan Rossell de la Costa was the first heir mentioned in the family papers; he was a winemaker and owner of the country house of can Rossell de la Costa, close to the parish church of Santa Margarida.

1638

A NEW FAMILY COUNTRY HOUSE

A new family house was constructed on a site known as Rocaplana, on the plain next to the small village of Sant Marçal. Later, the heirs of the dynasty Rossell/Cassanyes prioritized the denomination of cal Cassanyes, in which the family still lives today

1810

WEDDING BELLS

The wedding took place between the heir Damià Rossell de la Costa to the eldest daughter Madrona Cassanyes, which joined the family lines of two Penedés agricultural property owners, uniting their estates into one, a line which has continued to present times.

1908

NEW CELLAR

Following the recovery from the phylloxera plague, which had desecrated the Penedés vineyards, there came a period of economic prosperity which resulted in the construction of the magnificent cellar in the modernist style of the same year; it is the cellar where we now produce our wines and cavas.

1979

CREATION OF O.R.

After many generations had made wine from the grapes of different varieties, we began to bottle our first sparkling wines under the initials O.R. representing the name Oriol Rossell i Almirall (1919-2011); at the beginning of the 80’s he created the company ORIOL ROSSELL S.A. which still thrives today. Great impulse was also given to the production and sale of our wines and cavas. A popular character of many talents and with a good head for business, in 1948 he also founded the group of the Human Towers of Vilafranca.

TODAY

ORIOL ROSSELL

OUR VINEYARDS – THE TERROIR

The land of the Cal Cassanyes estate is chalky and mostly has a sandy, limey texture, ideal for making fine, delicate wines of great quality. Although this is a single estate, there are a great variety of soils. From the finest and poorest in the North, to the deepest and most fertile in the centre and to the stoniest and most gravelly in the South. This combination is ideal for making white wines and for giving structure and colour to reds.

BIODYNAMIC WINES

At Oriol Rossell we produce wines and cavas from the estate. We use this denomination because the grapes come from our own vineyards and each one is assigned to a particular product from the many produced on our property. Our standards of quality are also linked to our commitment to using biodynamic methods. All our vineyards are stamped with the certificate granted by the Consell Català de Producció Agrària Ecològica, with operating number CT/3013/P. All the estate is naturally rain fed and we allow naturally recurring plants to grown amongst the vines, green pruning, manual thinning of grapes and manual harvesting depending on the requirements of each product.

HARVEST AND SELECTION OF GRAPES

Our vineyards are located around the country house and the wine cellar, permitting quick transport of the grapes to our installations. Transport is carried out using boxes and small trailers of limited capacity in order not to crush the grapes. Once they arrive at the cellar, they are tipped out onto a table where any leaves, insects or spoiled grapes are removed in order to preserve the greatest quality in the elaboration of our wines.

XAREL·LO, OUR MOST OUTSTANDING VARIETY.

This variety is the Queen Cassanyes. Established in the Penedès for hundreds of years, our vineyards have ancient vines which are more than half a century old and which still produce this grape. The Xarel·lo has always been with us and is predominant in the coupages of our cavas. Currently we do not produce any wines which do not contain at least 50% of this variety. Its capacity for ageing, its optimal acidity and its freshness are the main characteristics which make it vital to our winemaking.

OUR CELLARS

Our cellars is where our bottles are laid to rest. Once the second fermentation has taken place the mother yeasts are left in the bottles
and the contact of the yeasts with the sparkling wine over the years of ageing, give each product its own unique characteristics.