Cava El Celleret Brut Nature Reserva NV
By Jonathan H. Newman*
El Celleret Brut Nature Reserva NV
Points: 90+
UNIT SIZE: 750.00 ml
VARIETAL: Xarello, Parellada, Macabeo
VINTAGE: NV
GRAPE: Xarello, Parellada, Macabeo
COUNTRY: Spain
This small batch Reserva Cava is owned by the Miro family, which has been producing wine for 100 years. It’s certainly a well-made Cava and compelling for the price. It presents a persistent delivery of tiny bubbles with nice weight and length. It's bone dry with zero dosage, and has exhilarating fruit, including pear, quince, green apple, lemon curd and nuanced minerality, with white flowers and brioche. It’s muscular and mouthwatering, with good weight on the mouth. Enjoy with tapas, smoked salmon, asian dishes and classic catalan cuisine, like toasted bread with tomatoes and smoked vegetables.
By El Celleret
Brut Nature Reserva NV
Winery Notes
This small family-owned winery was established in 1918 by the Miro family in Sant Sadurni d’Anoia - the birthplace of Cava, DO. In 1878, the first bottles of sparkling wine were made, just as phylloxera was starting to ravage the French viticultural arena. Cesar Martinell, a renowned local architect, designed the modernist-style company building and offices in 1928. 95% of all Cava still comes from in and around this town. The blend for this small batch, hand-crafted Cava is 30% Macabeo, 40% Xarello and 30% Parellada. Macabeo is used widely, due to late budbreak and consequent resistance to spring frosts, while Xarello brings the interesting, earthy aromatics so typical of good Cava, and the Parellada grape adds finesse. The wine spends a mandatory nine months on its lees before disgorgement, and attains four atmospheres of pressure. It remains 24 months in the cellar prior to release, and more importantly, to enable the wine to develop richness and complexity.
[Information Provided by J.H.N.]
*Jonathan Newman was Wine Enthusiasts’ Man of the Year. He also was Chairman of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, and received national recognition in Marvin Shanken’s Market Watch Magazine and many other international wine publications. He was also awarded the Guild of Sommeliers highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Newman's reviews have been published and quoted extensively online and in print. He travels extensively to many of the major wine growing regions and evaluates many of the wines we source from smaller and boutique wineries. We interact closely with him and the result is his rejection rate of over 96% of the wines evaluated.
