High-end Catalan wine has lost one of its main champions, the founder in 1979 of the Can Ràfols dels Caus wine project (Avinyonet del Penedès). Carlos Esteva Grewe passed away on Saturday at the age of 72. His health had not been with him for years, and he had suffered serious ailments. He was a promoter and great defender of Garraf wines, and the first president of the Massís del Garraf Viticulturists Association. He was a pioneer, betting on the Xarel lo variety fermented in chestnut barrels, shining with his Xarel lo Pairal, and also on international varieties such as Merlot (his Caus Lubis, inspired by the great Bordeaux wines, caused an impression with vintages such as the of 1998 and 1999), the cabernet franc or the incrocio manzoni.
In addition to his large and unique new winery excavated in the limestone rock of the Garraf massif on his grandfather’s estate (built between 2000 and 2006), Carlos Esteva promoted the Mas Oller project (DO Empordà) and the Can Camps project , a small farm in Olivella, also in the protected area of ??Parc del Garraf. Can Ràfols dels Caus was part of Qalidès, the disbanded association of prestigious wineries in the Penedès. Carlos Esteva, born in Barcelona on June 30, 1950, was a full member of the Académie Internationale du Vin since 1994. He studied economics.
From Can Ràfols dels Caus it is highlighted that the arrival of Carlos Esteva to Garraf, after having produced some artisan wine with hardly any means in Menorca, “was a complete revolution”. It is added that not only did he restore the family farmhouse, which was in a dilapidated state, but he also regenerated the wine-growing farm, introducing new varieties and cultivation methods and “betting on winemaking excellence with a unique character and endowing the cellar of an own identity”. Carlos Esteva believed that “a great wine always expresses, in addition to its terroir, also the individuality of its creator”, and added that “this, naturally, is not valid for wines made with benefits in mind”.
The founder of Can Ràfols dels Caus understood that “exceptional wines have something that goes far beyond what we are capable of perceiving with our eyes, nose and mouth”. He revealed that “what I fight for is to make wines” and argued that “you have to fight for the invisible”. He told his children: “you have to be warriors of life, which implies always acting with your conscience and in the best possible way, always facing reality, which is not always easy.” And he pointed out that “this will provide you with security and confidence over time, and also the pleasure of living.”
The president of the Catalan Wine Association, Valentí Roqueta, recalls that “we have lost a benchmark in the Catalan wine sector”. He points out that Carlos Esteva “did a lot for the world of quality wine and the wine culture in our country.” The president of the DO Penedès, Joan Huguet, states that “Carlos Esteva was a leader making great wines in the Penedès and building the most spectacular winery in our DO.” Huguet says that “we will find his dedication to things well done missing, and that artistic point that exalted everything he did”. For Marcelo Desvalls, spokesperson for the Massís del Garraf Viticulturists Association, “Carlos Esteva has been a person with extraordinary sensitivity in understanding the terroir.” He highlights his way of respecting the landscape, his commitment to quality wines, his proximity to people and his great enthusiasm for what he did. Desvalls has no doubts that he “is a great reference to continue in his line and his ideas”, and he is convinced that “wherever he is, he will continue to fight for the singularity of the Massís del Garraf”.
The family has decided not to organize any ceremony in his memory, although this afternoon they will receive friends in the winery gardens in an intimate ceremony to remember him with a glass of wine, “together and with joy, which is the way he would like”. For later they have announced an act of tribute. The director of this family winery, Jordi Esteve, has stated that “all of us who have been lucky enough to know the most personal side of Carlos will be forever marked by a human quality of an enormous dimension and by an always advanced vision of the life”. He defines him as “a tireless fighter who has always managed to go forward with his own vision, overcoming all the adversities and conflicting opinions that he has encountered along the way.” And he also points out that “the legacy he leaves us is infinite”, and stresses his desire that “we continue and that we do it together”.
