A lot of cava is aggressively bubbly and quite bitter but this cava shows Spain can give France a run for its money in sparkling wine.  Cava is the Spanish sparkling wine made in the champenoise method in Cataluña and some other regions in Spain.  The traditional grapes are Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo, but increasingly Chardonnay is being used in the blend.   Unfortunately many Spaniards and foreigners are only exposed to the cheapest of cavas, the under 8€ crowd from big producers.  Few of these are any good and most are frankly, quite bad.  Cava is a good value, if very different alternative to champagne, but I don’t understand how anyone thinks it should be that cheap.  The great cavas are between 12 and 25 euros…above 25 euros I find small producer champagnes better for the money….few of the really high end cavas really impress me either.  My favorite cava producers are medium or smaller outfits, my all time favorites are any cavas from Gramona, Raventos I Blanc and Sumarroca.  One of the frustrations of living in Madrid is that many smaller Catalan producers don’t have good distribution here…internal Spanish political tensions affecting the wine market.  Just today, I had one of my top picks…this is the cava I drink the most….it’s a top quality wine, good value and readily available in Madrid.  The Gramona Brut Imperial is a steal at about 15€. It‘s a wonderful, mellow, wine-like cava, where apply fruit mixes with leesy, toasted aromas.  The mouth is round, fresh and the carbonic is terrific, super integrated and not at all aggressive.  The finish is very persistent with a very slight, pleasant bitterness.  This wine is a great example of the quality Gramona offers…this Penedés-based company also makes great still wines, dry and sweet.  Read on for more information on the Gramona Brut Imperial. 

This is a top notch red from the southeastern Utiel region of Spain.  I recently rated this winery’s bargain wine Mestizaje and more recently tasted the Finca Terrerazo wine, which is their intermediate wine at about 25€.  The winery also has a top cru called Quincha Corral.    As I mentioned in the previous article, these wines are released under a Vino de la Tierra Category, in theory table wine, and are based upon the local grape Bobal.  Bobal is a mediocre grape when over cropped, but can make some unique, top quality wines with a lot of care.  The Ficna Terrerazo 2005 is a Bobal blend, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo.  Very complex nose, with tobacco, menthol and black fruit.  The mouth has all those elements plus surprisingly fresh acidity and big, smooth tannins.  I tasted the wine a day later and it was even better…smoother and more in balance.  It has a whopping 19 months in new French oak, but the intensity of the wine allows for it.  Shows what Bobal can do…this is a good value wine, considered the complexity it gives you.  Read on for more details on Finca Terrerazo 2005.

Another great red wine from the Montsant area of Spain.  In recent articles, I’ve rated Finca L’Argatá and Brunus.  Montsant is the great value area that surrounds the cult wine area of Priorat.  Many of the vineyard sites in Montsant offer similar great terroir as those in Priorat but at a fraction of the price.  But, it’s best to know your producers….there are still some fairly rustic wines out there.  The Acústic 2007 is my favorite kind a Montsant:  super mineral, intense black fruit, huge but smooth tannins.    Admittedly it’s a bit closed at first, but it’s a 2007 and needs some air and even some time in bottle.  Acústic has that distinct Montsant character that gives it real originality.  Also interesting in this wine is the use of Samsó, an obscure regional variety that is coming back into favor lately.  It is an intense, structured grape that really plays well with the old vine Garnacha so typical of the area.  Acústic Celler also makes a higher end wine called Braó, that retails for about 22€ and is more a more typical Montsant blend of old vine Garnacha and Cariñena.  Read on for more information on Acústic 2007.

Caliza is the value wine in the Marques de Griñon Dominio de Valdepusa line.  Dominio de Valdepusa is the estate wine appellation or vino de pago located in Toledo province to the southwest of Madrid.  The estate specializes in very ripe, big wines from mostly French varieties, though they are starting to work with Graciano, a Rioja grape.  The estate has been very important in the evolution of Spanish wines over the last 25 years, and has been innovating in terms of grape varieties and technologies in the vineyard.  I’ve previously written posts about the wines and the winery, but the Caliza was not part of the line-up back then.  Previously, the estates wines started at about 19€, topping out at about 45€. I’ve always loved these wines but often found them a little pricy.  Now the winery has come out with a lower end wine, the Caliza, that is much more reasonably priced at 12€.  The Caliza, made from Syrah and Petit Verdot, is soft and full, with wonderful black fruit.  It is not super complex, but has surprising freshness for such a hot weather wine and has quite a long finish, with very ripe tannins.  I really think it is a lot of wine for a good price….and it’s perfect to drink this year.  I don’t love the label though…it looks like a bland version of Didier Dagueneau’s original Silex label…also the shape of the stone looks a little like the outline of Africa.  Read on for more info on Caliza 2005.

One Spanish white grape I’ve written quite a bit about is Godello, a high quality grape from Galicia in northwestern Spain.  My all-time favorite Godello is As Sortes by Rafael Palacios, a wine I’ve rated and written about a couple of times.  Rafael Palacios is very passionate about Godello and determined to make world class wines out of the grape…something he’s already done.  Today’s wine is As Sortes little sister, Louro do Bolo, a delicious Godello that is much more approachable and also half the price!  I love the As Sortes, but it is so intense steely, and complex that it is not the friendliest wine before it gets some air.  The Louro do Bolo is much more round and aromatic from the beginning, albeit less complex.  It offers aromas of lees, pineapple and lemon in the nose, as well as a bit of smokiness and oak spice.  In the mouth it has all those aromas as well as really fresh acidity.  It’s a really great example of Godello at a really friendly price:  12€.  Read on for more details on Lour do Bolo 2007.