Wine & Spirits - August 2018 - 52

YEAR'S BEST SUMMER SPARKLERS
what the South Africans call Cap Classique,
sparkling wines made in the Champagne
method. While the white version holds to a
classic blend of pinot noir and chardonnay,
the rosé takes a distinctly local flavor with 34
percent pinotage blended into a base of pinot
noir (with two percent pinot meunier). Fermented entirely in stainless steel, it's a rich,
earthy sparkler with a gentle, vinous sweetness and the salty tang of umeboshi plums.
It's built for rich foods, like pork belly or an
oyster hot pot. § Quintessential, Napa, CA

S PA I N
229862

93 | Raventós i Blanc

$33

2013 Conca del Riu Anoia de la Finca
Vinya dels Fòssils (Best Buy) ^ The vines at
Vinya dels Fòssils originate from Manuel
Raventós Domènech's 1888 massal selection. The family planted the current generation of vines in 1964, with the classic blend
of macabeo, xarello and parellada, all growing in a lime-rich soil. This wine's bubbles
are small and firm, with a refreshing energy.
The flavors of ripe white fruits are bathed
in herbal touches while fresh acidity keeps
adding layers of flavor to discover. § Michael
Skurnik Wines, NY
230227

92 | Avinyó

$27

2015 Cava Brut Reserva Rosé (Best Buy) ^
This Cava has welcoming flavors of tart red
fruit, refreshing and delicious. The pinpoint
bubbles feel like small needles in the palate. The wine finishes fresh and herbal, with
nuances of spice, white fruit and flowers. Try
it with seafood risotto. This is pinot noir from
young vines (about 15 years old) planted on
clay and chalk soils in La Fassina. § De Maison
Selections, Chapel Hill, NC
229916

92 | Llopart

$31

2012 Cava Brut Imperial Gran Reserva
Panoramic (Best Buy) ^ This blend of xarello,
macabeo and parellada aged on its lees for
three and a half years. It's a multi-layered
wine, with scents of honey and white pepper woven into flavors of almonds. The texture is unctuous, but the bubbles emerge in
the midst of that creaminess to lend the wine
balance-deep, juicy and long in its flavors. §
Jorge Ordonez Selections, Dedham, MA
229864

92 | Raventós i Blanc

$35

2013 Conca del Riu Anoia Textures de
Pedra Vinya Més Alta Blanc de Negres
(Best Buy) ^ Textures de Pedra is a blend of
three local red varieties: xarello vermell, bastard negre and sumoll, all planted in stony

52

WINE & SPIRITS

AUGUST 2018

soils, as the name "pedra" suggests. It's a
Cava of imposing structure, with intense and
radiant acidity that highlights the flavors of
sour cherries and raspberries. The bubbles
are penetrating and firm, accentuating
the freshness and mineral flavors. § Michael
Skurnik Wines, NY
230454

92 | Jaume Serra

$40

2011 Cava Brut Nature Gran Reserve
Blanc de Blancs Chardonnay (Best Buy) ^
Aged on its lees for 30 months, this is a wine
of great concentration and strength, with
pungent bubbles and a firm grip. It offers a
rustic and charming vision of Cava. There
are herbal notes to the ripe fruit and, as the
wine opens in the glass, touches of flowers
add complexity. It's a wild wine that needs
smoked oysters. § CIV (USA), Sacramento, CA
230165

91 | Alta Alella

$37

2014 Cava Mirgin Brut Nature Gran
Reserva Laietà (Best Buy) ^ This is a blend
of organically grown macabeo, white pansa,
chardonnay and pinot noir. The wine aged
for more than 30 months on its lees, maintaining a sharp and refreshing acidity that
functions as its backbone, a firm column
from which other flavors are released-fresh
and luminous notes of citrus and herbs. A
tight and refreshing Cava for oysters. § AvantGarde Wine & Spirits, NY
229861

91 | Raventós i Blanc

$24

2016 Conca del Riu Anoia de Nit Rosé
(Best Buy) ^ De Nit is based on monastrell and
comes from the vineyards of La Barbera, La
Plana and Viader, where the soils are deep
loamy clay. This sparkler is focused on sour
cherry flavors, seeming to deliver those flavors in the bubbles, pointed and firm. This
is refreshing, juicy, crystalline in its fruit
expression. § Michael Skurnik Wines, NY
230160

90 | Alta Alella

$41

2014 Cava Mirgin Brut Nature Gran
Reserva Laietà Rosé (Best Buy) ^ This rosé's
intense acidity emphasizes the flavors of red
cherries and spice, with soft herbal touches
in the background. That acidity keeps it all
refreshing and tense, suggesting a match
with a generous piece of grilled salmon to
calm it down and bring the red fruit forward.
This unusual Cava is 100 percent monastrell,
aged on its lees for 30 months. § Avant-Garde
Wine & Spirits, NY
230157

90 | Alta Alella

$35

2016 Cava Celler de Les Aus Brut Nature
Bruant (Best Buy) ^ Floral notes seem to
monopolize this wine with their intensity,

but with time in the glass, flavors of peaches
and pears come out to fill the palate with
juiciness. This is a delightfully creamy Cava
to serve with grilled trout. § Avant-Garde Wine
& Spirits, NY
230978

90 | María Casanovas

$19

90 | Mont-Marçal

$30

89 | Marqués de Gelida

$19

87 | Parelada

$18

86 | Cavas Hill

$14

Cava Brut de Brut Reserva (Best Buy) ^ With
soft touches of peaches and cinnamon, this
has the friendly character of a Cava to drink
abundantly in summer. Its bubbles intensify
that sensation of freshness and vivacity. Try
it with sea bass tiradito. § Grapes of Spain, Lorton, VA
231019
Cava Brut Reserva Extremarium (Best
Buy) ^ With notes of green tea and soft touches
of mint, this wine's firm bubbles sustain its
flavors of citrus and herbs. The acidity runs
deep into a spicy finish. For broiled tilapia. §
Classical Wines, Seattle, WA
229911
2014 Cava Brut Gran Reserva (Best Buy) ^
Fruity and refreshing, this has a persistent
acidity that radiates freshness and emphasizes that fruity character. The bubbles are
small and lean, and it ends on deliciously
spicy notes. § Jorge Ordonez Selections, Dedham, MA
229931
2016 Cava Brut Stars Touch of Rosé (Best
Buy) ^ A rosé with refreshingly tart red fruit
and peppery spice, this wine's bubbles prick
the tongue with nerve and energy, lasting on
lively acidity. § Vinovia Wine Group, Trabuco
Canyon, CA
231056
Cava Brut Cuvée Panot Rosado (Best Buy) ^
Soft touches of sour cherries carry through
this light-bodied Cava with fine bubbles and
an herbal finish. It's ready for grilled shrimp. §
Mionetto USA, White Plains, NY

230524

85 | Pere Ventura

$15

Cava Brut Reserva Tresor (Best Buy) ^ Full of
pear and green-apple flavors, this is vibrant,
with soft, penetrating bubbles. For a crab
salad. § Palm Bay Int'l, Boca Raton, FL n
https://www.palmbay.com/producers/Pere-Ventura/portfolio/Pere-Ventura-Tresor-Brut-Reserva
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - August 2018
