Corpinnat Reserva Particular Gran Res. Brut N. - Xarel (12)

Xarel.lo en Macabeo | estate selecite | minimaal  65 jaar oude stokken | minimaal 104 maanden sur latte | geen dosage | top jaar | power | homage cuvée | blend van de beste vaten | gemaakt in enkel de beste jaren | 2007 oogst heeft zuren om deze wijn te rijpen tot in de eeuwigheid

Recaredo

Een wijnhuis gespecialiseerd in Corpinnat (voorheen cava) en wat doen ze dit goed. De derde, vierde en vijfde staan nu aan het roer en er is weinig veranderd aan de arbeidsintensieve manier van wijn maken in dit wijnhuis Ze hebben alle vijftig hectare omgezet naar biodynamische wijnbouw. De wijnen worden na botteling tussen de 30 en 120 maanden gerijpt in de kelders, elke 14 maanden worden de flessen geschud voor de smaakontwikkeling en de flessen worden met de hand gedegogeerd zonder het bevriezen van de hals. Een aperitief of maaltijdbegeleider van hoge kwaliteit van mediterrane druivenrassen met een bijzonder verhaal.

Review

Their vineyard-selection cuvée 2007 Reserva Particular currently in the market is from a great vintage in the region, especially for Xarello—even if this is a blend of 64% Macabeo and 36% Xarello, I think this has to be one of the finest vintages, at least in recent times, along with 2001 and 2004. This comes from three separate vineyards and is always a little riper, more developed, and in this vintage, it combines power with freshness, like in the best vintages. The 2007 vintage was dry, and Recaredo's vineyards yielded 33.5 hectoliters per hectare, when the appellation of origin allowed up to 88 hectoliters per hectare that year. The wine has 12% alcohol and an extremely low pH (2.96), which means very healthy acidity. The Xarello fermented in oak barrels and the Macabeo in stainless steel. The wine was put in bottle for the aging with yeasts in April 2008 and was disgorged nine years and nine months later (117 months). The long aging has provided for great complexity of aromas, a fine and elegant reduction and a very integrated palate with very small bubbles that give it a creamy texture. Most of the best vintages are cool and wet, and 2007 was not; it's more average, but still the results are great. 12,220 numbered bottles were produced. They didn't produce 2005 (they jumped from 2004 to 2006), because they consider Macabeo very important, and when it's not up to the level, they do not produce the wine.

Recaredo keeps working to improve the referencing of the best terroirs in their wines, and the Brut de Brut has been renamed to Serral del Vell, the name of the vineyard where the grapes are sourced for this brut nature. This change was implemented with the 2008 vintage, and at the same time, the wine was admitted in the Paraje Calificado category, an official Cava appellation category created for the wines from specific places that fulfill certain conditions for quality. Recaredo fulfills and exceeds those conditions, and in fact, they are 100% certified for organic and biodynamic agriculture, using autochthonous grapes, manual harvesting, aging for a minimum of 30 months with lees in bottle and using a natural cork for all their wines (all single-harvest and brut nature wines have been certified for 15 years). What I tasted was an amazing collection of sparkling wines, with one of the best vintages ever of Turó d'en Mota (their flagship) and a rare, one-off 1996 full of complexity and Roquefort-like notes in the nose and palate. As a side note, winemaker Ton Mata started a small family project in 2013 to produce natural sparkling wines with his wife. The first couple of vintages were fermented in Recaredo, and they are now building a small winery of their own. Gutierrez 95/10