17 Jul 2024
Cava isn’t just about bubbles; it embodies tradition, excellence, and unique authenticity, tantalising the senses with flavours of the Mediterranean.
Cava has established a global reputation for making some of the best value sparkling wines produced by the traditional method. But it’s important to note the quality to be found across Cava’s categories and styles, with top expressions on par with some of the world’s best.
There are three main categories of Cava which produce different styles of sparkling wine.
When labelled Cava, the wine must undergo a minimum of nine months of lees aging (in bottle), providing subtle notes of autolysis (the bready aromas and flavours found in traditional method sparkling wines).
These Cavas typically have light apple, citrus and herbal notes with moderate acidity.
Cava Reserva must spend a minimum of 15 months on the lees – three months less than Champagne requires. Here, biscuit autolytic notes are more evident. Aged a minimum of 30 months on the lees, Cava Gran Reserva wines can show pronounced autolytic characters including smoky and toasty notes. These Cavas can be premium in price but can show outstanding quality for value, especially when compared to traditional method sparkling wine counterparts.
To strengthen Cava’s notoriety as a world-class sparkling wine, estate produced and bottled Cava can qualify for a relatively new category, Cava de Paraje Calificado. These wines must age a minimum of 36 months, showing even more development and integration of flavours.
Traditional grape varieties used to make Cava include Macabeo (Viura), Xarel-lo and Parellada for the white wines and Garnacha and Monastrell for the roses. However, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are now both permitted varieties, adding an extra level of both fruit and acidity to the wines.
Whilst most Cava is non-vintage and ready to drink young, I have chosen three vintage wines for you to try.
Roger Goulart Brut Millésimé Cava 2019 £19.99 from Bentley’s Wine Merchants)
Roger Goulart is located in Sant Esteve Sesrovires, a little village in the Alt Penedès region, where they have 20 hectares of vines. The predominant grape is the local Xarel-lo and it is the main varietal in the blend. It is a grape of character and good structure, which makes it suitable for long ageing.
On the nose it is creamy, highlighting the fruity notes with a background of toasted nuts. This is a very fresh, silky and structured Cava. 2019 was a great year in terms of quality in Penedès – allowing fruit to reach its optimum ripeness.
Excellent as an aperitif or enjoy with grilled and roasted white meats.
Roger Goulart Gran Reserva Josep Valls 2019 (£17.35 from VINVM)
Another Cava from Roger Goulart, which was founded in 1882 in ‘masia’. This Gran Reserva is a blend made using the traditional grape varieties but has also taken advantage of being able to add Chardonnay (20%) and Pinot Noir (10%). Chardonnay along with Xarel-lo provide high alcohol and high acidity, requires for ling ageing. The result is a wine full of fine bubbles, clean and fresh with an abundance of fleshy fruits. The ageing adds creamy, toasty notes along with hints of pastry. This is lively, great acidity and full of finesse.
Cava Vilarnau Brut Nature Organic Reserva 2021 (£15.25 from Cellar Door Wines)
Vilarnau made its first aged cavas in the town of Sant Sadurni d’Anoia in 1949. Seventy years later, the wines are now made in a state of the art winery, whose sleek minimalist design couldn’t be further removed from the fortified Romanesque house from which the company takes its name. The estate lies at approximately 250 metres above sea level, and specialises in long-aged cavas, stored in temperature-controlled cellars to ensure consistency of style and quality year after year. This wine has had 24 months ageing on lees before bottling helping to develop flavours of bread and baked pastries, along with a toasty, nutty finish. This really is an excellent organic reserva Cava.
All three are excellent and very different in their profile, but if I had to choose one, it’s the Roger Goulart Brut Millésimé Cava 2019!
