Duc de Foix Brut Nature NV

A couple of more cavas to go before I finish up my short look at cava.There does appear to be quite a number of cavas out in the market place, the shelves of a number of retailers are loaded up with them, although it is mainly the "value" wines such as Freixenet Brut, which I will look at next.

Duc de Foix Brut Nature is a blend of the three traditional cava grapes and is aged on lees for 24 months.

The colour is light straw with a green tinge.  Light aromas of citrus and biscuit dominate the nose, but there is a subtle floral note as well as as apple.  A good level of fizz and well balanced acid.  On the palate the citrus is leaning more towards lemon with some very tidy green apple characters, some minerals add complexity.  The finish has creamy, lemon meringue feel to it that is kept fresh by the acid.  88 Pts.

Source: Importer Sample Price: Around $20 Closure: Conventional Cork

Importer: Toro Wines/Wood Wines

Segura Viudas Brut Nature NV

It's cup weekend here in Melbourne and you probably should be drinking something with bubbles in it, even if its before 11am on Monday morning. (for our international guests, there is a big horse race in Melbourne on Tuesday called the Melbourne Cup.  Its a good excuse to drink a lot of sparkling wine and have a day off from work).

Aria is a Brut Nature Cava (made with no dosage) containing 60% Macabeo, 20% Xarel·lo and 20% Parellada.

If you are looking for a lot of bubbles, look no further, there is a truckload of foam when you pour this stuff.  The nose is a bit neutral, a bit of yeasty bread and a slight wiff of lemon.  In the mouth its dry and there's a load of nice acid, plus more of those bubbles.  The palate is a bit mute as well, a slight citrus tang that drops off about half way through.  It finishes off short with a good acid zing.  Some would call this delicate. It is well made, but I just think its a bit boring.  83 Pts.

Source: Retail Cost: $16 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.seguraviudas.com

Segura Viudas Brut Vintage 2001

Segura Viudas is one of the many brands of the massive Fleixenet cava house.  They seem to focus on Macabeo and Parellada for their traditional house style, with a range of newer wines that feature  Xarel·lo.  They also have a range of still wines, that I don't think are out here as yet.

The Brut Vintage is a blend of 67% Macabeo and  33% Parellada that has been aged on lees for 3 years. 

A nice straw yellow in colour, there is a lot of bubbles here, almost building foamy head as its poured into the glass.  The nose has a small wiff of bread and nuts, along with some apple and lemon.  Its very refreshing in the mount, creamy and tangy with loads of acid.  There is some complexity there, with tangy green apple,  almonds and walnuts dominating the mouth with a bit of minerals.  The finish is a bit short, there is an odd aniseed taste on the finish that I was not expecting, but I really like it.  At $16, I'll be grabbing some of this for those hot January days. 87 Pts.

Source: Retail Cost: $16 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.seguraviudas.com

L’Hereu de Raventos i Blanc Brut Reserva 2004

I had a look at the Brut Nature version of this wine last week and from what I can work out the only real difference between these two wines is dosage, the Brut has 8.8 grams per litre of residual sugar where as the Brut nature has less than 3.  Again the blend is mostly Macabeo (60%) with the remainder Xarel-lo and Parellada (20% each). 

I bought this bottle back from a tasting and shared it around the office, I am now quite popular as a result.  Personally I prefer the Brut Nature, however I think the Brut is a lot more versatile with food. If you like a little bit of sweetness in your sparkling wine, this will be right up your alley.  I found the main difference in taste between this and the Brut Nature the wine was a softening of the citrus characters and more apple and pear notes.

A pale gold in colour with a vigorous bead.  There is a bit of sweetness, but the citrusy acid keeps the palate fresh.  Apple and pear with a noticeable mineral tang. The bead is quite vigorous and it finishes of with a creamy fizz. 89 Pts.

Source: Importer Sample Price: $30 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.raventos.com

Importer: The Spanish Acquisition

Juve y Camps Vintage 2003 Reserva

As promised, I have a few more cavas to taste.  Sure cava week is over, but it isn't the only time to drink cava. Any time is cava time, especially Wednesday afternoon.

Anyway on to the wine.  The 2003 Vintage Reserva is a blend of 45% Macabeo, 35% Parellada and 20 % Xarel.lo. and sees 24 months on lees.

Brilliant pale gold in colour with a fine nose of lemon, yeasty bread and a hint of melon.   On the palate the wine echos the nose, nice and zesty with citrus and  melon followed up by a creamy, sherbet finish. 89 Pts.

Source: Importer Sample RRP: $39 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.juveycamps.com

Importer: The Spanish Acquisition 

L’Hereu de Raventos i Blanc Brut Nature Reserva 2004

I had to get at least one cava in during cava week, and this is my favorite at the moment.  Brut Nature is a no dosage style that is typically very crisp and fresh.  

This wine is a blend of 60% Macabeo and 20% each of Xarel-lo and parellada.  The wine is aged on lees for 12 months, and for those bubbly freaks there is a disgorgement date on the back label.

A pale gold in colour with a vigorous bead.  The nose has some intense lemon and apple characters with some bread and old rose petal characters.  Very dry and fresh on the palate with loads of apple and citrus with a slight bit of minerals. A nice creamy finish that has grapefruit and a creamy sherbet fizz.  Great hot weather drinking.  90 Pts.

Source: Rathdowne Cellars Price: $30 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.raventos.com

Cava week 2006

Trawling around the Spanish wine blogs this week discovered that it's officially Cava week this week.  I'd been planning on having a look at a couple of bottles of Cava around Melbourne cup, but I'll have to step up and find a couple this week. 

For the uninitiated, cava is Spanish sparkling wine and is made from 3 primary grapes: Parellada, Xarel-lo and Macabeo.  Chardonay is starting to show up here and there as well.  DO Cava is a bit of an odd one as it covers a number of areas, the Penedes, Catalunya and just about anywhere else that makes sparkling wine.  There are around 270 producers in the DO and a range of styles of cava are made, from fresh and crisp to loads of lees contact and complexity.  It is obviously loads of fun, look at the advertising….perhaps not the most subtle, but thats the Spanish and Catalonians  for you.

There does seem to be a lot of cross pollination between champagne and cava, a number of Champagne's biggest names are trying to make cava in Spain and a couple of Cava producers have bought Champagne houses.  I don't think cava will ever put champagne out of business, if you are looking for a cheap champagne replacement I think you will be disappointed.  You will find some really good wines however, the brut nature or no dosage styles are especially good if you like fresh crisp sparkling wine.  

So, if you see a bottle of Cava in the bottle shop this week you now have an excuse to try it, it is Cava week after all.