The winery embarks on a new chapter under the name Art Laietà, a tribute to the territory and to the winemaking tradition of the ancient Laietania (pre-Roman Iberian region)

After more than three decades as a family-run estate, we begin this new chapter under the name Art Laietà. The project was born from the desire to highlight the artisan work of winemaking and our deep connection to the land, capturing the essence of the wines and cavas we have crafted since 1991.

“Wine is culture, landscape, and emotion. Art Laietà is a tribute to the land that has nurtured us and to the generations who came before us: the Laietans were already growing vineyards here over 2,000 years ago” explains Mireia Pujol-Busquets, second generation and Deputy Director of the winery. “It is also a way of expressing our philosophy of wine, with responsibility and respect for the land.”

Artisan work and origin as core values

The name change represents a natural evolution in the history of the winery. “Far from a new beginning, this is the continuation of our way of working, rooted in personality, sustainability, and authenticity,” says Josep Maria Pujol-Busquets, founder of the winery.

The new brand brings together all the wines and sparkling wines produced on the estate: from those under DO Alella and DO Cava to the natural wines of Celler de les Aus, a pioneering project in sulfite-free, minimal-intervention winemaking.

A new visual identity

The new Art Laietà logo marks the natural evolution of our family project toward a more authentic, handcrafted identity, deeply rooted in its origin. Under the concept of “artisan work and origin,” we celebrate creativity, craftsmanship, and the unique terroir that gives singularity to our wines.

The new labels, inspired by different artistic expressions –watercolour, engraving, and illustration– reflect a personal perspective of our vineyards, the sea, and the sauló (the sandy granite soil that defines our terroir). This new chapter embraces wine as a true form of cultural expression.

The launch of this new identity coincides with three key milestones in the history of the winery:

• A record-breaking 2025 harvest in both quality and quantity. After several years marked by drought, we celebrate an exceptional vintage, outstanding in production, balance, and expression.
• 20 vintages of sulfite-free revolution. In 2006, we created Bruant, the first sulfite-free cava in the DO Cava. Since then, this philosophy has become one of the cornerstones of our identity. The achievement was recognized with the “Best Young Initiative” award at the BBVA Awards for Best Sustainable Producers, granted by a jury including BBVA and El Celler de Can Roca.
• A firm commitment to the territory. In recent years, we have focused our efforts on sustainable growth and now cultivate 68 hectares of our own vineyards between Alella and Tiana. This reflects a true commitment to organic farming, restoring historic vineyards and traditional varieties such as Pansa Blanca (Xarel·lo) and Mataró (Monastrell). By 2028, we plan to reach more than 80 hectares.

The 2025 harvest has officially begun at Art Laietà d’Alta Alella. On Monday, August 4th, we started picking grapes from our youngest vineyards, planted over the past three years as part of our continued commitment to the land. These new vines are starting to produce their first small yields, and we harvest them early to relieve the load, helping the plants focus on growth and long-term balance. As always, we harvest by hand, carefully selecting each bunch to preserve the maximum quality.

An exceptional vintage

After several years of drought, spring rains this year brought much-needed relief to the vineyard, restoring balance and vitality. The early summer heat led to slightly faster ripening, while late July rains along with some isolated hail damage required close attention in certain plots. Even so, the vines have remained in excellent health. At this point, we can say that the 2025 harvest is shaping up to be an outstanding one, with exceptional quality and a generous yield.

We now hope for warm, dry weather in the coming weeks to support balanced ripening and an ideal end to the growing season.

The harvest is more than just a key moment in the cellar. It’s the culmination of a year of close observation, care, and dialogue with the vines. No two vintages are ever the same, and that’s what makes each one so special and what drives us: capturing the unique expression of each growing season in a bottle, and crafting wines and cavas that reflect the singular identity of our Mediterranean landscape.

Throughout the year, the vineyard undergoes a fascinating and cyclical transformation that completely changes both the landscape and the vine itself. Each season paints a different picture, but it’s between spring and the harvest, in late summer, when the vine most vividly reveals its evolution: it buds, blossoms, sets fruit, and nurtures each grape until it reaches perfect ripeness. This is also when we get to see the true star of winemaking up close — the grape.

If you visit us in spring or summer, you’ll witness some of the most magical moments in the vine’s life cycle in a privileged spot: among vineyards planted in Sauló soil and overlooking the sea. A wine tourism experience near Barcelona that connects nature, terroir, and wine culture.

1. Closed flowers
   As spring arrives, the dormant winter buds awaken and begin to grow. The first leaves appear, and tiny flower clusters start to form — the early promise of what will become full grape bunches.
2. Flowering
   With warmer weather, the buds open into delicate flowers. It’s a fragile moment: the vine needs calm, stable conditions to ensure successful pollination.
3. Fruit Set
   Once the flowers are pollinated, they turn into tiny berries. This stage, known as fruit set, determines how many grapes each cluster will carry — and ultimately, the potential of the harvest.
4. Berries pea-size
   The berries grow rapidly, reaching the size of a pea. At this point, they’re still firm and bright green. The vine channels its energy into helping the fruit develop properly.
5. Bunch Closure
   The grapes continue to grow, and the bunches take on their familiar shape — still green and tightly packed. The vine is now balancing vigorous growth with fruit development.
6. Veraison
   Around mid-summer, the grapes begin to change color — red varieties turn purple or blue, while white grapes shift to golden hues. This change, called veraison, marks the start of the ripening process.
7. Berry ripening
   The grapes soften and develop their final balance of sugars, acidity, aromas, and flavors. When they reach the ideal moment, we begin harvesting — always by hand, and selecting the grapes.
8. Harvest
   Harvest is the culmination of the year’s work. Once the grapes have reached their ideal ripeness according to the wine we aim to produce, they are hand-picked into small boxes, plot by plot, to preserve their quality and expression. Each harvest marks the start of a unique wine or cava — a true reflection of its origin and its year.

Come and experience this magical moment in the vineyard!
Book your visit and witness the grape’s transformation — a natural spectacle that only spring and summer can offer. We look forward to welcoming you to Alta Alella for an unforgettable experience.

This year 2024 has been an incredible journey, filled with emotions, lessons, and most importantly, moments shared with all Alta Alella and Celler de les Aus’ lovers. As we stand on the brink of a new year, we would like to raise a glass and toast to a 2025 brimming with happiness, a deep connection to nature, and countless reasons to celebrate each day.

Before we dive into the year ahead, we would like to take a moment to highlight some of the key moments and memories that made the past year special:

🌨️ Without a doubt, the highlight of the year has been the long-awaited return of the rains. After years of severe drought, they have brought renewed hope and strength to our vineyards. We shared more about this in our 2024 harvest recap.

🍇 This year, we celebrated 23 harvests at the winery with a very special event that brought together film, gastronomy, and wine, featuring selected vintages from the Pujol-Busquets family’s wine library.

🌱 We’ve made significant strides in our commitment to the Alella-Tiana wine region. In 2023, we announced the acquisition of additional hectares, and in 2024, we’ve focused on planting new vineyards. Stay tuned—more details are coming soon!

🤝 This year, Alta Alella joined the prestigious Grandes Pagos de España (GPE) association, which unites renowned wineries recognized for crafting wines in perfect harmony with their soil, nature, and the climate of their unique vineyards.

🏆 We’re thrilled and deeply grateful for the significant recognitions our wines and cavas have received this year. The most remarkable is the Alta Alella Mirgin Exeo Evolució+ 2004 cava, which earned the ‘Best in Show‘ medal at the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards. Selected from over 18,000 wines from 57 countries, consolidating its position as one of the top 50 wines in the world.

🍾 We continue working toward more sustainable production and our goal of reducing our carbon footprint. One of the projects that has grown this year is the bottle reuse service with the start-up Pots, which we started working with in 2023. Exciting updates on this initiative are coming soon!

Thanks to all those who have been part of our story. From Alta Alella and Celler de les Aus, we will continue working to bring the best of our landscape and our passion.

From our family to yours, we wish you a happy 2025! 🍾

At the Mataró slope of our Hort d’en Genís vineyard, we’ve covered the ground with straw made from locally grown wheat and barley, sourced right here in the DO Alella region. A sustainable farming practice we’re using to enhance soil health and support biodiversity.

Why mulch?

Mulching, or inert ground cover, is an environmentally friendly technique that provides several benefits for the vineyard:

• Keeping weed under control
• Regulating soil temperature with natural insulation
• Retaining soil moisture

Beyond these, straw mulch also serves as a protective barrier against rain and wind erosion, prevents nutrient loss, and fosters biodiversity by attracting microorganisms and earthworms in the soil. All of this contributes to a healthier vineyard ecosystem, without interfering with vine growth.

It’s a simple, yet powerful practice that helps us create a healthier, more balanced vineyard.

With the harvesting of the coastal Mataró variety, grapes intended for the production of our emblematic Alta Alella Dolç Mataró, we have concluded our 2024 harvest!

2024 has been a year of a return to ‘normality’ in many respects. After years of extreme drought, the rains finally came – much needed especially by the older vines with the deepest roots which had suffered more water stress until now–,  and we’ve experienced more moderate temperatures.

The favourable conditions during the vegetative period already gave us a good indication of a great vintage ahead marked by very good vine health.  Harvesting started later than in recent years with the first grapes harvested on the 5th of August. The dry and hot climate at the time also resulted in good ripening of the early varieties.

From the beginning of September, the drop in temperature and the return of the rains prolonged the ripening of the late varieties, with the thermal jump between day and night favouring the aroma metabolism and colour of the grapes. This also helped preserve their acidity; a very positive element especially for the red and white varieties destined for the wines made for ageing.

Our harvest concluded with weather conditions more characteristic of autumn, unlike in recent years, bringing us, together with the factors mentioned above, a vintage where the vines produced fewer grapes (due to the years of drought we’ve experienced), but of a high quality and very good plant health overall.

Although we now have no more grapes left in the vineyards, the work in the cellar continues: fermentations, macerations, racking and bâtonnage… onward!

We are thrilled to announce that on Monday, August 5th, we harvested the first grapes from our vineyards, which marks the beginning of the 2024 harvest! After months of work and commitment in the vineyard, it has arrived the most awaited and special season of the year.

Following years of extreme drought, in 2024 nature has given us a precious gift: the rain. It has finally rained in quantity and at the right time for the vineyard, especially for the oldest vines, which have the deepest roots and had suffered the most from hydric stress until now.

Due to the years of drought, the plants have produced fewer grapes, but of very high quality. The favorable conditions for the vines during the growing season have resulted in a magnificent vintage with impeccable health.

The first grapes collected will be used to produce our cavas. Once the harvest has begun, we will gradually pick the different vineyards, checking the optimum ripeness of each variety with daily controls. So far, we predict a fast harvest, in line with recent vintages.

• The winery’s inclusion in Grandes Pagos de España reinforces our commitment to quality and the production of honest wines that capture the characteristics of the terroir and the vintage.

• The Pujol-Busquets family, with a firm commitment to the territory and integral winemaking, also announces a new investment that will expand its vineyards to 90 hectares.

We are delighted to announce that Alta Alella has officially joined the prestigious Grandes Pagos de España(GPE) association. This non-profit organization brings together renowned wineries that produce wines in perfect harmony with the soil, nature, and climate of their vineyards.

“Becoming a member of Grandes Pagos de España is a significant achievement for us,” says Josep Maria Pujol-Busquets, our founder and winemaker. “It acknowledges our dedication to quality and authenticity, reinforcing our commitment to crafting wines that truly represent the unique characteristics of our terroir.”

Grandes Pagos de España sets rigorous admission standards, including the production of singular wines that reflect the terroir, respect for the typicity and origin of the estate, and the exclusivity of grapes from their own vineyards. We are proud that six of our wines and cavas have been included in this prestigious association: Alta Alella 10 2012, Alta Alella Mirgin Opus 2019, Alta Alella Mirgin Exeo 2017, Alta Alella Cau d’en Genís 2022, Alta Alella Lanius 2021, and Alta Alella Dolç Mataró 2020.

In addition to this exciting news, we are investing in new plantations located in the Serralada de Marina Natural Park, expanding our vineyard area to 90 hectares in the upcoming years. This expansion not only increases our production capacity but also helps preserve one of the most emblematic wine regions near Barcelona. “Our vineyards are the lungs of Barcelona,” says Mireia Pujol-Busquets, deputy director and second generation of the winery. “We winegrowers play a key role in the conservation and management of the territory, especially in areas threatened by urban pressure.”

At Alta Alella, we remain dedicated to producing exceptional wines that reflect the richness and diversity of our territory. We look forward to continuing our journey alongside the distinguished members of Grandes Pagos de España, promoting the diversity and richness of our winemaking heritage.