Despite the drought, the campaign augurs a good harvest, with good quality grapes
The Pan GambúsAgrarian Park vineyard, in Sabadell (Vallès Occidental), is the setting for the start of the 2023 vintage. This is where L’Olivera begins a new campaign, the third in a row marked by persistent drought. This Friday, a team from Can Calopa begins the harvest of Chardonnay and Xarel·lo in the peri-urban vineyard where the well-known Arraona are born, the wines that vindicate the Vallesan winemaking tradition.
This year, and despite the rains at the end of spring, the general lack of precipitation conditions the harvest once again. Although it is true that there have not been heat waves like last year, production in Sabadell continues to be 25% below the average for other years, slightly recovering from the sharp decline caused by the 2022 vintage.
However, the harvest is expected to be good and makes the Can Calopa team, led by winemaker Íñigo Haughey, optimistic. The health of the grapes is excellent, and the quality is superior to that of recent years, with fuller bunches and optimal and uniform ripening. With this quality, the L’Olivera – Can Calopa team anticipates demanding work in the winery so that the white and red Arraona continue to evolve and gain consistency and nuances.
After the Sabadell vineyard, the team will continue the campaign in the Can Calopa vineyard where, for the first time, the Xarel·lo variety will be harvested. This variety was planted on the Barcelona municipal estate thanks to the crowdfunding campaign carried out in 2020 with the aim of replanting Can Calopa with traditional varieties from the Collserola mountain range. With this variety, L’Olivera will make an estate white wine, the future Vinyes de Barcelona white. A wine that, like the red Vineyes de Barcelona, aims to preserve the legacy and winemaking tradition of Collserola and the city of Barcelona.