Since 1510
Can Nadal Boadella was founded in the early 16th century. The parchment signed by the notary Francesch Berthomeu in 1510 certifies the ownership by Pere Nadal of an estate located in the municipality of Torrelavit. According to historical documents, the Nadal Estate has passed from father to son, faithful to the catalan tradition of the family heir. It has never ceased to grow grapes and make wine, even during the most difficult years of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), when part of the estate was expropriated to build an airfield.
The figure of Ramon Nadal Giró
He was born in 1903, just as the Alt Penedès region had started replanting the vineyards the phylloxera plague had stricken. His entrepreneurial spirit led him, during the years of the Civil War, to send spirit from his distillery to a wine cellar of La Mancha that he rented to produce mistelles, which brought him considerable gains. And he knew how to invest them. In 1941 he recovered the vineyard that the army had used as an airfield during the war, and he built, twenty metres below ground, the foundational cellar, which still looks after the most popular products of the winery.
The restless and entrepreneurial Ramon Nadal Giró has guided us over the years to maintain the level of quality and standards of our sparkling wines and white wines. As a tribute to him the RNG10 was born, the flagship product of our range, which honours our history with his initials.
On the 75th anniversary of the first harvest for sparkling wine, the RNG20 hits the market, in a limited edition of 1,049 magnum bottles of the 1997 harvest, which is soldover a period of five years.
Corpinnat and noble white wines
The origin of our sparkling wines goes back to the end of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), when Ramon Nadal Giró retrieved the vineyards that had been expropriated to make an airfield. He then decided to reorient the family brandy business towards the production of sparkling wine. As a result of this evolution, the first bottle of Brut Nadal saw the light of day in 1943.
Seventy years later, the fruit of the native varieties of the Penedès – Xarel·lo, Parellada and Macabeo – continue to be cultivated in our vineyards, according to ecological viticulture guidelines allowing us to produce long quality vintages sparkling wines inspired in the craft of the méthode champenoise (traditional method). Since 1998, with the third generation of the Nadal family now heading the winery, our range of products has expanded. We have started to develop the first white wines of the estate with a firm commitment to the xarel lo variety. We also launched the first sweet white wine of natural botrytis developed in Spain. True to the spirit of our founder, the wines and cavas Nadal of today continue to express man’s commitment to the land.
Organic and sustainable viticulture
Sustainable viticulture and production techniques have been a way of life at the Nadal estate since its foundation in 1943. The responsible and respectful use of natural resources gives meaning and substance to our wines.
At Nadal, we produce our wines and Corpinnats from organic grapes grown without the use of pesticides or artificial fertilisers. We forgo irrigation in favour of adapting our vineyards to climate change by practising dry farming. We prioritise manual techniques for greening pruning, clarifying and harvesting, and we insist on minimal intervention throughout production to respect the natural flavour that the land imparts to the fruit. We also recycle our glass, cardboard, greywater and all by-products from the production process.
Nadal’s first CCPAE (1) certified organic harvest took place in 2018, three years after we began converting the estate’s vineyards.
(1) Catalan Council of Organic Production.
Grape varieties
At Finca Nadal de la Boadella, we principally plant indigenous Penedès white grape varieties: Macabeu, Xarel.lo, Xarel.lo Vermell and Parellada. The vines, some of which are more than 65 years old, produce well-balanced, quality grapes. Currently, Finca Nadal produces more grapes than it needs to cover its entire production output. This allows us to be selective when choosing which ones to use for our products.
The Macabeu is a highly-regarded grape that produces complex and structured Corpinnats with fresh and fruity aromas. It’s harvested at the beginning of September. In exceptional Macabeu harvests, the grapes grown on bush vines that are more than 50 years old give a unique identity to our “Salvatge” range of Corpinnats.
Macabeu bunches are very compact, with medium-sized, gold-coloured grapes. The must is quite sweet with medium acidity.
In 1998, Finca Nadal became the first winemaker in Spain to produce a sweet white wine from Macabeu grapes affected by Noble Botrytis rot.
Xarel.lo is the flagship variety of the Penedès region. Harvested in the middle of September, it produces pale Corpinnats with ochre tones that are voluminous in the mouth and have mature-fruit aromas. From the best harvests of this variety, we produce our aged Corpinnats RNG and RNG10.
If we delay the harvest until the beginning of October, we obtain a fresh, flavourful, and persistent non-sparkling white wine that has herbaceous aromas and evokes white fruits and floral notes.
Xarel.lo bunches are less compact with medium-sized amber-coloured grapes.
The Xarel.lo grape contains a high concentration of resveratrol, a phenolic compound that can help prevent cardiovascular disease.
The Xarel.lo Vermell has all the properties necessary for it to qualify as a white grape, but the light red colour of its skin gives it a sophisticated edge. Its skin is thicker than its white counterpart’s, and it has naturally higher levels of acidity, which allow us to delay harvest until the beginning of October. It produces a dry white wine with red hues, unctuous and fresh in the mouth, with mild spicy aromas and notes of menthol.
Currently, there are less than 100 hectares of this variety in the world, all of which can be found in the Penedès region, and seven of which are at Finca Nadal de la Boadella.
The Parellada, which matures during the second half of September, produces pale Corpinnats that are smooth in the mouth, with greenish hues and floral aromas. This variety brings its own unique style to our range of Corpinnats. The Parellada bunch is quite compact, and the grapes are large and mostly green but with hints of gold and a slightly pink hue. Even though it’s the least sweet and acidic variety, the Parellada is considered indispensable for producing Corpinnats that have delicate aromas and present finesse in the mouth.
In the highest areas of the Penedès region, the Parellada is known as the Montònec or Montònega.
Pinot Noir bunches are small and compact. The grapes are a violet-blue colour and small in size. From this variety, which is harvested in mid-August, we obtain an extremely sweet and acidic must, ideal for producing our Corpinnat rosé wines such as Salvatge Rosé.
The variety occupies less than 4% of Finca Nadal’s hectares.
