List of products by manufacturer Castillo Perelada

The production of wine in the Castillo Perelada has been documented since the Middle Ages, as evidenced by several documents and scrolls from the period that are preserved in the library. When Miguel Mateu bought this monumental complex in 1923, one of its main objectives was to revitalise this winemaking tradition, a tradition that is more alive today than ever and which has incorporated the most modern technology to produce wines that make the most of the nuances of the soils and vineyards of the Empordà.





Three Generations
Miguel Mateu Pla was a unique personality. His father, Damián Mateu, co-founder of Hispano-Suiza cars, was the one who initiated him into the business world. But Don Miguel also developed a political vocation that would lead him to be Mayor of Barcelona and Ambassador of Spain in Paris. All these activities made him coincide throughout his life with countless public figures of international stature, both in the political and cultural spheres.




Miguel Mateu stood out extraordinarily in the world of art and culture. His admirable sensitivity towards artistic manifestations of the most diverse nature made him one of the greatest collectors of his time when he was still very young. In 1923 he bought the monumental complex of the Castle of Peralada, made up of the impressive castle that had belonged to the Counts of Peralada, the gardens and an old Carmelite convent annexed.

From that moment on, Don Miguel made Peralada his particular art centre, gathering there his collections of glass, painting, ceramics, etc. In this way, over the years he gave shape to the Museum of the Castle that today opens its doors to the public.

Arturo Suqué took the reins of Perelada after the death of his father-in-law Miguel Mateu in 1972. For decades, he led a profound transformation based on an obsession for quality and with one fundamental objective: to make Perelada one of the most prestigious wineries in the country.

Faithful to Miguel Mateu's love for culture, Arturo Suqué and his wife Carmen Mateu initiated the Festival del Castell de Peralada, an internationally recognized cultural event.

For his part, Javier Suqué Mateu has focused his work at the head of the winery on a commitment to quality wines, planting and acquiring vineyards and forming a team of prestigious oenologists. It is also worth mentioning the important work carried out in the field of research, through which Perelada tries to make the most of the enormous viticultural potential of the Empordà.


The Winery
Perelada has always seen its commitment to quality recognised through the great acceptance of its wines at an international level. In the 1960s, the success in the United Kingdom of the then called "Champagne Rosé de Castillo Perelada" was the reason why sparkling wine producers in the French Champagne region appealed to the courts to obtain exclusive use of their appellation's name. And they succeeded, so the other regions had to look for alternative denominations. In the Spanish case, this would give rise to the birth of the D.O. Cava. In any case, far from harming Castillo Perelada, the conflict meant a beneficial free publicity for the winery.

         


Throughout the decades, the wines of Castillo Perelada have had the honour of being selected for official banquets of unquestionable historical relevance, such as the coronation of His Majesty King Juan Carlos I, the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Asturias or the visits of the presidents of the United States Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

Naturally, Perelada's interests have focused from the outset on the D.O. Empordà. It is in this wine-growing area where the winery has been regularly proceeding with the acquisition of new vineyards and the selective planting of different grape varieties, always based on research carried out by an expert team of viticulturists and oenologists.

The purchase in 1979 of a winery in Vilafranca del Penedès, the nerve centre of the DO Cava, enabled Perelada to expand its production capacity and to become one of the main producers of this sparkling wine.

Perelada's wines have won many prizes in national and international competitions. In this sense, the three gold and two bronze medals won at the V Sélection Mondiale des Vins, Alcool et Liqueurs in Paris in 1967 marked one of the key moments in the winery's history. But it has been in recent years when Perelada wines have been among the most prized in Spain thanks to medals won in competitions such as the International Wine Competition Bacchus, Vinalies Internationales, Challenge International du Vin, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, International Wine & Spirit Competition, Decanter World Wine Awards or Mundus Vini.