Three Generations & the Griffin

The story of Castell d'Age is the story of three generations of women who have shaped one of the most progressive wine estates in the Alt Penedès. It began with Aurèlia Figuera, the grandmother, who laid the foundation of the family's viticultural life in the middle of the 20th century. The Junyent family was already producing excellent grapes when Aurèlia's husband, Josep Maria Junyent, made a bold decision that would mark the estate's innovative spirit: he was the first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon in the Penedès, a celebration of the birth of his first grandchild. This act — planting a French variety in Catalan soil to honour a new life — set the tone for a family that has never been afraid to break with convention.

The transformation came with the second generation: Anne Marie Comtesse, who took the reins in the late 1980s and turned the family's grape-growing tradition into a winery of distinction. Anne Marie was a pioneer — one of the first in the Penedès to embrace organic farming, not because it was fashionable but because she believed it was the only honest way to grow wine. She introduced organic viticulture to the region at a time when chemical-dependent agriculture was the norm, and she built the winery's reputation on Cava — the traditional-method sparkling wine that has long been the Penedès' signature. Under her direction, the 18th-century farmhouse in La Beguda Baixa became the cellar, and the family's six estates — spread across different altitudes and soil types — became the laboratory for matching variety to terroir.

The third generation is Olivia Junyent, who has taken her mother's organic conviction and deepened it into full biodynamic certification. Olivia is not merely continuing a family business; she is expanding its philosophy. She has introduced biodynamic agriculture — certified by Demeter — to the estate, a method that respects the relationship between humans and earth through composting, lunar calendars, and the encouragement of spontaneous vegetation cover. She has also launched the estate's Natural Wine line — wines made with 0% added SO2, spontaneous fermentation, and hand-lettered labels that were originally improvised for a trade show and became permanent because they captured exactly what the wines are: honest, direct, and unadorned. Olivia's leadership has made Castell d'Age a force for good in the region — an estate that proves women can shape the land, the cellar, and the future of wine.

The family's symbol is the griffin — the mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle, guardian of treasure and symbol of strength, vigilance, and protection. It appears on the labels, the website, and the imagination of the estate — a fitting emblem for a family of women who have guarded their land, their vines, and their convictions across three generations. The cellar, housed in an 18th-century farmhouse in La Beguda Baixa, is not a modern architectural statement; it is a working monument to patience, where bottles sleep for months underground at a constant 16°C until the moment they see daylight. The philosophy is summed up in two words: patience, no rush.

The guiding philosophy of Castell d'Age is expressed in two words: patience, no rush. This is not a marketing slogan but a comprehensive approach that governs every decision from the vineyard to the bottle. The wines are made following EU organic regulations, with biodynamic practices that respect the relationship between humans and earth. The Cavas are produced by the traditional method — méthode champenoise — with first fermentation in stainless steel at low temperature and second fermentation in bottle, followed by a minimum of 20 months of ageing in underground cellars at 16°C. The still wines are fermented with indigenous yeasts, handled with minimal intervention, and aged in a combination of stainless steel tanks and amphorae. The Natural Wine line is crafted with 0% added SO2, spontaneous fermentation, no filtration, and no clarification — wines that are purely expressive of the terroir and grapes from which they are made.

The Natural Wine line is the most distinctive expression of the estate's philosophy. It was born from necessity and authenticity: the wines were bottled shortly before a trade show, and as the labels were not yet ready, the team quickly wrote by hand what was inside — 100% Xarello, 0% SO2 — point blank, nothing fancy, just straight to the point. It was meant to be temporary, but people fell in love with the honesty of the presentation, and the hand-lettered labels became permanent. At its heart, that is what natural wine is: straight to the point, naturally occurring. Grapes have yeast inherently on their skin, so when left to their own devices, they naturally begin to ferment into wine. Nothing is added to alter their flavours or the course of action — they are simply left to be. The result is a range of four natural wines — Xarello, Orange, Garnatxa, and Syrah — each with its own unique personality, distinct from more commercialised bottles of the same varietals, and specific to not only the grape but also where it was grown.

The Cava line honours the Penedès tradition of sparkling wine while pushing it toward organic and biodynamic purity. The Cava Anne-Marie — named for the matriarch — is a Brut Nature Reserva of 40% Xarel·lo, 40% Macabeo, and 20% Parellada, aged a minimum of 20 months underground. The Cava Olivia — named for the daughter — is a Brut Nature Reserva of 100% Chardonnay, also aged 20 months underground, expressing the elegance and refinement that only long lees contact can provide. The Cava Aurelia — named for the grandmother — completes the trio, a tribute to the woman who started it all. The Cuvée Patos is another Brut Nature Reserva, a blend of the three traditional varieties from slate and clay-limestone soils at varying altitudes. Each Cava is made with the same patience: first fermentation in stainless steel at low temperature, second fermentation by méthode champenoise, and ageing in underground cellars where the bottles sleep at 16°C until the moment they see daylight.

The still wine line offers a diverse range of classic and innovative expressions. The Fragments Blanc — 40% Sauvignon Blanc and 60% Xarel·lo — is a fresh, tropical, and silky white that captures the sunny side of the Penedès. The Fragments Rosat — 100% Xarel·lo — is a pale, herbaceous, and intensely fresh rosé that proves the variety's versatility beyond Cava blending. The Miracle — 100% Sauvignon Blanc — is given 28 days of cold maceration on the skins, producing a textural, complex white that pushes the boundaries of what Sauvignon Blanc can achieve in Mediterranean soils. The Orange Amfora — 100% Viognier — is given six days of skin contact and two months in a 1,000-litre amphora, producing an orange wine of distinctive personality and unctuous texture. The Luz y Luz — 90% Garnatxa and 10% Syrah — is a direct-press rosé of luminous clarity and floral freshness. The Natural Wine line — Xarello, Orange (Garnatxa Blanca), Garnatxa, and Syrah — is the estate's most radical expression: 0% SO2, unfiltered, unclarified, and spontaneously fermented, each wine a pure portrait of its variety and its soil. The cellar is not a factory; it is an 18th-century farmhouse where time, temperature, and indigenous yeast do the work, and the family provides the patience.

To understand Castell d'Age, one must understand that it is not merely a winery; it is a matriarchy made liquid, a family made vineyard, and a conviction made wine. The three women behind the project — Aurèlia Figuera, Anne Marie Comtesse, and Olivia Junyent — are not business partners; they are grandmother, mother, and daughter, bound by blood and by a shared belief that wine should exist in harmony with the world. Aurèlia laid the foundation in the middle of the 20th century, when the Junyent family was already producing excellent grapes and her husband planted the first Cabernet Sauvignon in the Penedès. Anne Marie transformed the grape-growing tradition into a winery of distinction in the late 1980s, pioneering organic farming in a region that had never seen it. Olivia has taken the organic conviction and deepened it into full biodynamic certification, launching the Natural Wine line and proving that a family of women can shape not merely a business but a region's agricultural future.

The identity is defined by the griffin — the mythical creature that guards the estate's treasure. With the body of a lion and the head of an eagle, the griffin symbolises strength, vigilance, and protection — qualities that each generation of the Junyent family has brought to the vineyard. It is not a marketing logo; it is a family emblem, appearing on the labels, the website, and the imagination of the estate. The identity is also defined by the hand-lettered labels of the Natural Wine line — labels that were improvised for a trade show and became permanent because they captured exactly what the wines are: honest, direct, and unadorned. At its heart, that is what natural wine is. Just straight to the point, naturally occurring. Grapes have yeast inherently on their skin, so when left to their own devices, they naturally begin to ferment into wine. Nothing is added to alter their flavours or the course of action — they are simply left to be.

The future of Castell d'Age is tied to the continued health of their biodynamic vineyards, the deepening of organic practices across the six estates, and the gradual evolution of a portfolio that now speaks to both the traditional Cava drinker and the natural wine enthusiast. The Cava Anne-Marie, Olivia, and Aurelia will continue to be the sparkling flagships — wines that prove organic, biodynamic Cava from the Alt Penedès can achieve world-class expression when aged with patience underground. The Fragments Blanc and Rosat will continue to capture the fresh, sunny side of the Penedès. The Miracle and Orange Amfora will continue to push the boundaries of what skin contact and amphora ageing can achieve with white varieties. The Natural Wine line — Xarello, Orange, Garnatxa, and Syrah — will continue to be the estate's most radical and honest face, proving that 0% SO2 and hand-lettered labels are not gimmicks but statements of intent. The old vines will continue to be hand-pruned, the biodynamic preparations will continue to be applied according to the lunar calendar, the underground cellars will continue to sleep at 16°C, and the three generations of women will continue to meet around a table in La Beguda Baixa, tasting, talking, and planning the next vintage with the same patience that has defined the estate for over 50 years.

In an age of increasing industrialisation in wine — of global varieties, engineered yeasts, and corporate consolidation — Castell d'Age stands as a compelling alternative, not because it rejects modernity but because it has embraced a deeper modernity: one that values three generations of women over a boardroom of men, an 18th-century farmhouse over a stainless steel tank farm, organic farming over chemical dependence, biodynamic certification over greenwashing, indigenous yeasts over inoculation, 20 months underground over rushed release, 0% SO2 over standardised stability, hand-lettered labels over elaborate branding, the Cava tradition over sparkling wine homogenisation, the Natural Wine line over the luxury cuvée, and the specific voice of La Beguda Baixa's slate and clay-limestone soils over the standardised replication of a global style. Castell d'Age is not merely making wine; it is proving that a family of women can shape a region, that organic farming can become biodynamic conviction, that a hand-lettered label can become a permanent statement, that 0% SO2 can produce wines of startling complexity, and that the simplest philosophy — patience, no rush — is often the most profound. From the 1950s vineyards to the 2024 Natural Wine line, from Aurèlia's grapes to Olivia's biodynamic certification, from the first Cabernet Sauvignon in the Penedès to the 0% SO2 Syrah: all united in one bottle, one family, one unanswerable argument for the possibility of organic, biodynamic, hand-made, zero-sulfur, passionately honest wine from the heart of the Alt Penedès.