Malvasía (Subirat Parent)

Which Malvasía this is

"Malvasía" is a name carried by many different grape varieties. This page covers only the one in the Cava rules, where it is written "Malvasía (Subirat Parent)".¹ The second name in brackets is the key to its identity.

In the Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC), Subirat Parent is not a separate passport. It is listed, together with Malvasia Riojana and Malvasia, among the 42 synonyms of the prime name ALARIJE, number 213.² Read through VIVC, the Cava Malvasía is therefore Alarije: white berries, country of origin Spain.²

The link rests on the VIVC synonym list. The Cava rulebook itself uses the names Malvasía and Subirat Parent, not Alarije.

Pedigree

VIVC gives the pedigree confirmed by DNA markers as Gibi × Tortozon; the parent fields point to the passports Heben and Folha de Figueira.² Heben also appears as a parent in the VIVC entries for Macabeo, Xarel·lo and Parellada.^3,4,5

In sparkling wine

In Cava the rules authorise five white varieties (Macabeo (Viura), Xarel·lo, Parellada, Malvasía (Subirat Parent), Chardonnay) and four red ones (Garnacha Tinta, Monastrell, Pinot Noir, Trepat). A rosé base must contain at least 25% red grapes.⁶ The rulebook gives this variety one line: "La Malvasía aporta aroma y frescura" (Malvasía brings aroma and freshness).¹

Other Catalan sparkling rules use different names. The Classic Penedès list names Subirat Parent and Malvasía de Sitges as two separate entries,⁷ and Corpinnat lists Malvasia de Sitges among its non-historic varieties, up to 10% with the others.⁸