Wine Recommendation for the Weekend

Note: I have only had this once (last Saturday at Cowboy Ciao’s at $6 a glass) but it really did impress me. I have intended to drop in again and actually taste it for tasting note purposes but it has been a strangely busy week after work so far. I will try and do so tonight and update you all. Granted, if I knew my date was not going to show up on Monday, I would have been able to re-taste the nice little Spanish sparkler. Women! Arrrghh!! :D

Wine:
Suite de Gramona

Origin:
Penedes, Spain

This is a wonderful side trip from Barcelona and the train system is excellent. The trip is less than an hour by train and there are wonderful rolling hills covered by vines along the way. Taxis (often with English speaking drivers) are readily available in Villafranca de Penedes and will take you to any of the wineries in the area. Most cava actually comes from the nearby town of Sant Sadurni d’Anoia and the train stops there as well. It is a much smaller town but I am guessing the taxi situation is similar there. There are lots of Bodegas (wine shops) in both towns but as I was there only a for a brief time before a cruise, I did not get a chance to try them out. Tell me what they are like if you visit.

Varietal:
Cava (Spanish Sparkling Wine)

This is a true cava made from an equal blend of three native Spanish grapes: Xarello, Macabeo and Parellada.


Tasting Notes:

Random tasting note I liked.
In a blind tasting, held by our distributor, this Spanish sparkling wine totally blew away NV Veuve Clicquot and Chandon’s White Star. There is some earth and toast on the nose. It has a fetching satin mouthfeel. The flavors are long, not bone dry and utterly agreeable.

DragonStormInAZ
This is about an $18 bottle of cava compared to the neighborhood of $45 to $50 for the other two true Champagnes listed above. Can one really prefer one bottle over three good ones?

This nice little sparkler has a very pleasant nutty (maybe walnut/pecan) and green apple nose. This is surprising given that the carbonation usually hides much of the nose in a sparkling wine, but it hints at what is to come.

This cava is fuller and sweeter than any other cava I have ever run across and is the best sparkler I have had, though this is the opinion of someone who does not really drink sparkling wine much. Understand that it is still dry as most cavas are but it has enough sugar for the flavors to linger very nicely. The flavor makes me think of breakfast though this is not something I could use to make mimosas with as it is very good on its own. A bit toasty and nutty at first and fruit, mostly green apple with a bit of citrus comes through soon afterwards and lingers through a long finish. There is absolutely no metallic aftertaste in this one.

I am thinking I need to try this again tonight and I will be putting in an order for a few cases when I find a wine shop that can get it.