Until Didier Dagueneau came along in the 1980s, Pouilly Fumé was known only for cheap, mass-produced wine. His now-legendary Silex led to a revolution in the region’s winemaking, so that today elite, terroir-driven bottlings are the norm, not the exception.

A similar story is unfolding in northeast Spain, in the Penedés, the heartland for cheap Cava. Here, we’re witnessing the second coming of Dagueneau, in the form of Cava Recaredo, a century-old estate that has come out of nowhere to make sparkling wine at the same level as tête du cuvée Champagne.

Everything Recaredo makes is extraordinary. But the crown jewel is the micro-production Turo d'en Mota, which Decanter has called “the Romanée-Conti of Penedés” and about which Luis Gutiérrez has asked: “Is this the Clos d’Ambonnay of Cava?”

It’s also the same wine that graces Revue du Vin de France’s list of its 25 landmark Spanish wines of the last two centuries.

The greatest (and most sought-after) vintage yet of Turo d’En Mota is the 2008, which received a lavish 97-point rating from Luis Gutiérrez in The Wine Advocate. We can offer it, direct from the estate, for just $184.95 a bottle.

Back Story
Turo d’En Mota has only been made since 1999, from a .97 hectare plot of 80-year-old head-pruned Xerello, the most noble of Penedés’ sparkling wine grapes. The site’s cool microclimate and clay-loam soil over a high active limestone base produces deeply concentrated Xarello of striking minerality and bracing acidity.

But in the 1940s, Recaredo’s founder Josep Mata Capellades discovered that to capture Xerello’s full potential required oak aging and at least a decade en tirage. Consequently, Turo d’En Mota stays on the lees for a whopping 12 years before disgorgement.

Today, there are few Champagnes made with the same attention to detail—and that deliver the same exciting results—as Turo d’En Mota. That makes it a bargain in its class.

Last year—before Gutiérrez's review—we were able to get a small amount of the 2008. That sold out in a heartbeat. But we kept trying to get more. Finally, after several requests, we've gotten a few more cases, which we're told are the last that will be sold.

We urge you to grab at least one 3-bottle case. You’ll be happy you did.