There's more to investigating wines than simply trying those made with different grape varieties. I have chosen primarily to navigate through my voyage of discovery by aiming at a different grape each week and there have been a few that have appeared more than once during the first three alphabetic laps, but usually because they have synonyms beginning with different letters used in different regions or because I was desperate (see last week).
Xarel.lo appeared in week X (2014) as a dry table wine. It qualifies for a repeat performance not only because there aren't many white X's and not even because I couldn't find the bottle of Xynistiri that had been winking at me from the shelves in the now infamous (to the non-existent readers of this nonsense) Tring branch of M&S, but because it is here used in a different style of wine altogether.
Week X (2015) Heretat el Padruell, Brut Cava. NV. M&S £8.
Like most Cava this is made with a blend of grapes, in this case only 30% is Xarelo.lo, another 30% is Parellada and 40% Macabeo. This is not unlike Champagne, a wine with which Cava is prone to comparison, which is also, generally, made from a blend of three varieties. This is not the only reason for the comparison as the method of production is the same, even if the Champenoise no longer tolerate their international (or indeed regional) wine-making brethren referring to their 'methode' on their labels.
The producers here have used the much more factual description of 'fermented in this bottle' which tells us that it is made by the traditional method, like Champagne, and not in a tank, like the hugely fashionable Prosecco.
One way in which Cava compares very favourably with Champagne is that for £8 we have here a lively sparkling wine with a fine mousse and a clean fruit-driven profile that would be very acceptable at most parties either as an aperitif or for a toast (oh, alright then, or all the way through a meal), whereas if we were to insist on the 'real thing' from France we would be paying twice as much for an entry level bottle.
Where this Cava doesn't compare so well is if you are fond of the yeasty, biscuity aromas that can be found in Champagne and I have to admit that I am. But to write it off for this reason would be a huge mistake. I would argue that the fashion for Prosecco is just that. I like Prosecco for what it is, but what it is is a light simple sparkling wine, usually with coarse short-lived bubbles that doesn't taste too intensely of anything, but is great for a party, especially on a warm summer's day. But if I wanted to keep a bottle of something with a fizz cold in the fridge to be opened for no better reason than the day ends in a y, then I think this will do very nicely and better than Prosecco for interest and better than Champagne for price.
Xarel.lo appeared in week X (2014) as a dry table wine. It qualifies for a repeat performance not only because there aren't many white X's and not even because I couldn't find the bottle of Xynistiri that had been winking at me from the shelves in the now infamous (to the non-existent readers of this nonsense) Tring branch of M&S, but because it is here used in a different style of wine altogether.
Like most Cava this is made with a blend of grapes, in this case only 30% is Xarelo.lo, another 30% is Parellada and 40% Macabeo. This is not unlike Champagne, a wine with which Cava is prone to comparison, which is also, generally, made from a blend of three varieties. This is not the only reason for the comparison as the method of production is the same, even if the Champenoise no longer tolerate their international (or indeed regional) wine-making brethren referring to their 'methode' on their labels.
The producers here have used the much more factual description of 'fermented in this bottle' which tells us that it is made by the traditional method, like Champagne, and not in a tank, like the hugely fashionable Prosecco.
One way in which Cava compares very favourably with Champagne is that for £8 we have here a lively sparkling wine with a fine mousse and a clean fruit-driven profile that would be very acceptable at most parties either as an aperitif or for a toast (oh, alright then, or all the way through a meal), whereas if we were to insist on the 'real thing' from France we would be paying twice as much for an entry level bottle.
Where this Cava doesn't compare so well is if you are fond of the yeasty, biscuity aromas that can be found in Champagne and I have to admit that I am. But to write it off for this reason would be a huge mistake. I would argue that the fashion for Prosecco is just that. I like Prosecco for what it is, but what it is is a light simple sparkling wine, usually with coarse short-lived bubbles that doesn't taste too intensely of anything, but is great for a party, especially on a warm summer's day. But if I wanted to keep a bottle of something with a fizz cold in the fridge to be opened for no better reason than the day ends in a y, then I think this will do very nicely and better than Prosecco for interest and better than Champagne for price.
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