Raimat

Raimat is also one of the world´s most innovative centers for viticultural and oenological research. The techniques applied to vineyard cultivation and winemaking have required many years of experimentation and research

The Raventós family, whose wine-growing credentials go back to the middle of the 16th century, pioneered cava production in Spain at its Codorníu winery in Sant Sadurní d´Anoia.

Some years later Manuel Raventós gave an important boost to Codorníu´s operations and once cava was established in the market, he acquired 3,200 hectares of barren land in Lleida. Thus Raimat, the second of the Raventós family´s important ventures, was born. At that time the Raimat estate was a desolate, stony wasteland with a ruined castle and as a result it was unthinkable that it could be productive.

In 1914 Manuel Raventós bought 3,200 hectares of barren land in Lérida. Raimat´s first winery was built in 1918 by the modernist architect Rubió i Bellver. A later expansion, in 1988 by Domingo Triay, gave the winery its definitive appearance.

At present Raimat has 2,245 hectares of own vineyards in the D.O. Costers del Segre, which meet the winery´s requirements.

Raimat is also one of the world´s most innovative centers for viticultural and oenological research. The techniques applied to vineyard cultivation and winemaking have required many years of experimentation and research that have gradually evolved into the methods used today.

The winery built by Domingo Triay in the late 80s was conceived as a highly functional structure, with ample space for the traditional racking that such installations require, but nevertheless locating this process at the heart of the winery.

The project was undertaken by shifting thousands of tons of earth to remove a hillock and by excavating the land thus cleared in the shape of a pyramid on two levels. In the first of these the bottling plant, raw materials and shipment warehouse, laboratory and reception areas are located. In the second is the barrel room. This entire area was subsequently covered with the earth that had.been removed, so that the hillock was rebuilt with its original aspect. The land was planted with a Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard.

As a result of this immense undertaking, Raimat currently enjoys a winery area of 30,000 m² which contains more than 15,000 barrels of American and French oak. The overall capacity of the winery is 10 million litres, whereas present production is about 5.5 million bottles of still and 1.5 million bottles of sparkling wine.

The faultless integration of the whole into the surrounding environment, the logical layout, the ability to maintain the conditions of humidity, temperature and light required at each stage of wine production, and indeed the elegant interiors and exteriors of all the buildings, combine to make Raimat an excellent architectural example, fully adapted to the requirements of a modern winery, which is heading resolutely into the 21st century.