El Xamfra Mercat Brut Nature Cava Penedes

The 2009 Mercat Brut Nature is the same blend but with 0.3 grams/l residual sugar. It has a wonderful peachy bouquet that blossoms in the glass with hints of dried apricot and honeysuckle. The palate is very well-balanced with crisp acidity and a fine thread of bitter lemon that lends tension and poise, leading to a very champagnoise finish. Excellent! Drink now-2015+. (4/ 2012)

(a blend of macabeo, xarel-lo and parellada; no dosage): Pale yellow. Pear skin, peach and a hint of toasted nuts on the pungent nose. Juicy and penetrating, with good cut to its orchard fruit and lemon rind flavors. Shows a dry edge on the finish, which echoes the citrus and nut notes. The focus and heft of this Cava should enable it to work well with a range of light and rich foods. (11/ 2011)

The Wine Advocate has a new Spanish critic, Neal Martin. It is very telling, I think, that he has begun his beat in Catalunya, a region producing such a wide variety of delicious, well balanced, unsung heroes of Spanish wine. One of these would be Cava, which when it is well made offers the refreshment of your favorite sparkling, with some of the refinement of Champagne (Cava undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle, same as in Champagne) for a fraction of the price. We cannot wait to introduce you to our own direct import Cavas, but until then, let this delicious blend of traditional Cava varietals--Macabeo, Xarel-lo, and Parellada--tide you over...(Joe Manekin, K&L Spanish Wine Buyer). *Please note that in the review below, the publication mistakenly labeled this as a vintage dated product; in fact this cava is actually non-vintage. We have confirmed this information with the importer.