Vilarnau Brut Reserva D.O. Cava

What is Cava??  Quick answer: Sparkling wine using the Champagne method, using Macabeo, Parellada and Xarell lo grapes mostly from the Catalonia region of Spain.

You might have heard of Freixenet, it’s along the same general lines.  However, Vilarnau is significantly less expensive.  At about $10 a bottle it’s roughly half the price.

But cheap isn’t what most of us are after right?  That is correct.  We want great tasting wines that don’t embarrass us when we serve to guests right?  Check.

This past weekend I shared this review sample with dinner guests.  We started out the night with this wine and ended it with USDA Prime Angus NY Strip and some Napa Cabernet.  However, I digress…

The wine was a hit.  Small bubbles give the wine a nice tart prick to the tongue, there is a little residual sugar to smooth it over.  Think of ripe green apple, dry yet fruity.  The alcohol is light at 11.5%, no hint of alcoholic heat, nice well rounded wine

Nice work on the bottle artwork as well, should be easy to find and also makes a great conversation starter.  To which you can contribute a few of these facts:

Varietal:  50% Macabeo, 35% Parellada and 15% Xarel.lo

The wine is aged 15 months in the bottle, in an underground cellar at 15 degrees celsuis.

Cava is plural for Caves.

 

Enjoy!

Weeklywinejournal rating 87 points