It is easy to understand why Pere Ventura has just the two words on his business card: “I am”. He is charismatic and enchanting. And clearly both a philosophical ‘thinker’ as well as an entrepreneurial ‘doer’. “In a human way, I do my best,” is the phrase he uses to explain the principles of the business. This could almost have been penned by Shakespeare, who we learn, he avidly reads.
Pere Ventura and his co-founder wife, Mireia Juvé in the Savoy Grill Wine Room
Philosophical spirit
We are at lunch to sample Ventura’s Tresor Cava range and Pere Ventura Vintage Cava wines from 2021 and back to 2010. But Ventura says he doesn’t really want to talk us through the fine selection on show (Ventura is confident we’ll find them top quality). “I want to talk about spirit,” he says – and starts explaining what drives him on and his family history.
Ventura the man is deeply rooted in the history of Cava, Spain’s flagship sparkling wine – a tradition upheld by his family for four generations in the premier Penedès region in Catalonia. Ventura’s great-grandfather, Manuel Montserrat Font, in the late 19th century helped produce the first traditional method sparkling wine in Spain. His grandfather was a leading oenologist who modernised Cava production. And his father followed in his footsteps.
Pere Ventura: It's the spirit that counts
Up with the world’s greatest sparkling wines
“I was convinced I could rival the world’s greatest sparkling wines and make my own mark”, says Ventura. Once the Cava DO regulations were approved, Ventura built his business for the modern era in 1991 using the principles of innovation and a commitment to quality. “My mantra is not just producing – but improving, improving, IMPROVING!,” Ventura says with conviction.
Pere Ventura continues his family’s business in the town of Sant Sadurní D’Anoia, known as Cava Capital where the effervescent wine was first born.
The Cava DO spans several distinct zones, with Pere Ventura’s roots in the most acclaimed of these: the Comtats de Barcelona encompassing the historic city.
The Tresor wines (meaning treasure – a traditional local taste of authentic Cava) is organised in three collections: brut, rosado (rosé) and gran reserva styles.
“I have great respect for the customer,” explains Ventura.“My heritage tells me it is not only what you receive, but above all what you are willing to offer which counts.”
We start out tasting with wines which are the result of three decades of winemaking: Pere Ventura Cava Vintage Rosé 2021 (100% Pinot Noir), bottled in chequered glass, is delicate and fine from 30-year-old vines. Then onto the Tresor Brut Gran Reserva 2021 (40% Macabeo, 40% Xarel-lo, 20% Parellada). Both are 36 months on the lees. The Gran Reserva has fine bubbles and green apple and citrus fruits on the nose. Creamy on the palate, it shows a balance of freshness and smoothness with notes of dried fruits to freshly toasted bread.
Next is the Tresor Cuvée Barrique GR Brut 2019 (60% Xarel-lo and 40% Chardonnay with a part of Chardonnay aged in oak for five months) which rests for up to four months after disgorging. It has an intense golden colour with notes of cinnamon, dry fruits and cocoa on the nose. Full-bodied, there is a combination of toffee and vanilla and candied citrus fruits.
Pere Ventura Vintage Brut Gran Reserva 2017 (60% Xarel-lo and 40% Chardonnay) is part of the more expensive Vintage Collection. These are exceptional vintages selected with the best grapes and with a strong connection to the land. The wine is clear and pale gold with a delicate mousse. It is a full-bodied Cava with medium acidity and intense flavours of nuts, citrus and pineapple.
The Gran Vintage Brut Cava de Paraje Calificado 2016 (50% Xarel-lo and 50% Macabeo) is a special wine from a very small vineyard, the Paraje Can Bas plot. A beautiful, delicious wine and gold medal winner, it has a rich and generous bouquet and a near-perfect balance.
Only 200 bottles were made of the Tresor Gran Reserva 2017 (40% Xarel-lo, 20% Macabeo, and 20% Parellada) in magnum which stands out for its elegance, and complexity. With 48 months on the lees, it has a persistent bubble with citrus and herbaceous notes. There’s a broad spectrum of flavours including acacia flowers and dried fruit.
The finale, the Tresor Gran Reserva 2019 (Jeroboam) (40% Xarel-lo, 40% Macabeo, and 20% Parellada) is produced from bunches combined from different vines at different altitudes which then spends 40 months on the lees. It is sumptuous, fresh and broad with an intense gold colour and persistent, integrated bubble.Notes of dried fruit, caramel and pastry are a treat on the palate.
Juvé confirms that her husband has just the same spirit and ideas today as he did when he first started out. There’s one subtle change, however, a smooth glass bottle with chequerboard label (a modernised version of the earlier cut-glass bottle). “The chequerboard design is close to my heart – it reflects my feeling that I’m always in a chess match to do the best I can with myself,” enthuses Ventura.
Merum Priorati El Cel 2021 also part of the Pere Ventura Family Wine Estates
Expansion beyond Cava
We learn that recently the estate has also expanded its Cava portfolio and acquired the 27-generation estate of Can Bas and also Merum Priorati. Both have long traditions of producing exceptional still wines. The Savoy Grill Room is a perfect setting to savour these non-sparkling wines too and we are treated to Desti 2018 and El Cel 2021 with British classics of Beef Wellington and Arnold Bennett soufflé.
What about the future, we ask?“I love my roots, my people, my family, my children,” says Ventura. He reveals his eldest son is starting to learn the ropes so Ventura may pass the business down a further generation. “Absolutely, if you ask me,” he exclaims. “The profit of the future is in the past.”With equally poetic and oenophile talents, we muse that the multi-faceted Ventura would have been as impressive a bard as a wine producer.
One of the British classics at the Savoy Grill – Arnold Bennett Soufflé
Pere Ventura Cava wines are available from Enotria & Coe
