In early 2018 I came across the wines of Cal Tiques and asked my friend Nuria Renom about them. She at the time was sommelier of Barcelona’s cult wine bar, Bar Brutal and in the early stages of her winemaking career. She simply said ‘Liz, you MUST meet Joan’.

Joan Rubio is thought of by his peers and colleagues with a reverence not often seen, not only is he spoken of fondly as a person but his council is sought by many for agriculture advice, he has an ease and love for sharing his knowledge.

Born in Penedès to a family owning vineyards, Joan’s path at an early age seemed decided. He studied viticulture in Taragona and then returned to the family property and resumed the tradition of farming grapes and selling them to the large Cava houses of the region. His destiny was to change though, via Ton Mata, whom he met during his days in Taragona and was at the time selling grapes to. Ton’s parents owned Recaredo and they offered Joan a job. Two years later he was the technical director of Recaredo, deemed as the most prestigious Cava house of Spain, and he held this position for the next 13 years. 

During this time he attended a conference on responsible viticulture and met Pierre Mason, a leader in biodynamic farming in France. Here he found someone advocating agriculture favouring life and balance between the plants, soil, vineyard and animals. Subsequently he converted Recaredo to biodynamic farming, all 50 hectares, which to this day is still practised and adhered to.

Joan also converted the family’s 9 hectare property, which has been registered since 2009 with the Catalan CCPAE. ‘When you’re in the vineyard and you see the vines surrounded by the spontaneous vegetation cover you become aware of how absurd it is to try to put parameters to life’.

In 2015, he returned home to the family estate, and with wife Angels they created Cal Tiques. Located in the village of Cal Rubio in Santa Margarida I els Monjos, it lies 17 kilometres from the Mediterranean. Planted to Xarello predominantly, supported by Macabeu, Mourvèdre, Tempranillo and Sumoll, new plantings of Malvasia de Sitges as well as cereals and olive trees. The soils are composed of clay and limestone, with some plots rich in fossilised ocean sedimentary.

At harvest time Joan picks on taste, he constantly walks the vines tasting the grapes, picking when they have phenolic ripeness and tension. The grapes are hand harvested and de-stemmed, and all wines go through 7-10 days maceration, but, due to the gentle method Joan uses, these should not be classified as orange wines. As the wine sits on skins there is no pigeage (punchdowns) of the cap, the skins are left as they are to give a gentle infusion. As the cap starts to dry out, Joan carefully peels away the skins in layers, removing the cap in stages over time so it never fully dries out, avoiding the risk of oxidative notes and any off flavours.

He sees wines as melodies created by the grapes, where each part contributes a different and specific sound: the skin, the pulp, the stem, the seeds, the lees; all components necessary to obtain the final melody.

All the wines at Cal Tiques are obtained from free run juice, without pressing and slowly vinified, attention to detail present at every stage. Joan uses a mixture of vessels, stainless steel, 4-5 year old oak demi-muds and tinajas (amphora) of both white and red clay. Annual production is approximately 12,000 bottles.

Joan’s wines are captivating and the most elegant wines I have tasted from Catalunya; pulsating and precise. Of inherent beauty, they convey the meticulous work done in the vineyard; alive and expressive, with energy, salinity and minerality.