Month: October 2017

IS CHAMPAGNE LOSING ITS SPARKLE?

Or is it that Cava is now of such exceptional quality that it’s leaving its illustrious neighbour floundering in its wake, its head just above water clinging onto the dubious lifebelt of its ‘prestige’?

Firstly some background. In the UK, in preparation for opening my first restaurant, I started (and successfully completed) the Certificate Course of the Wines & Spirits Education Trust (WSET), in an effort to secure an advantage over restaurants in the area where I was about to open. There were some good ones, but the common denominator was that they little (nothing?) about the wines on their list, and indeed wine in general. Scandalous, really, when one considers their duty of ‘care’ for their clients and even more so when thinking of the contribution that their wines made to their profits! Remember the horrendous mark-ups in the UK?

Of course, we studied Sparkling Wines with the WSET, starting, of course, with Champagne, and being honest, not spending much time on any other sparkling wine production! (NB this was 25+ years ago – it’s far more comprehensive these days). Now, as any wine person will tell you, one of the best advantages of thirsting for wine knowledge is that one has to drink, sorry, taste, a lot! One’s hard drive needs a continuous stream of examples that to taste in order to acquire knowledge and form opinions.

I therefore tasted sparkling wines from other regions of France, from Spain, including, but not exclusively Cava, from New Zealand, Australia, Germany and California.   [Interestingly, considering the Prosecco tsunami that is so prevalent in the UK nowadays (why?!), I didn’t taste any of the P-word – it simply wasn’t really available then!]. I also tasted plenty of other Champagnes too, mostly Non Vintage (NV), but also Vintage and top Cuvees, including, for example Dom Pérignon and other really excellent, though very expensive, top quality Champagnes.

In my restaurant (which was soon to be joined by another – those were the days!) I settled for an NZ Fizz (what a shame I can’t now remember its name) and a Champagne, H. Blinn, which, although of far lesser fame, was for me superior to the ubiquitous Möet, found on every other restaurant list in the area. (You have to hand it to the Möet Chandon marketing team!).

It was this initial sustained tasting that established in me an insatiable desire for quality fizz and, I like to believe, at least a little knowledge and expertise. It’s an interest of mine still, and I’ve certainly been able to satisfy my thirst for knowledge (and to quench my thirst) here in Spain.

It seems that I had accrued sufficient knowledge and tasting ability to have been invited to join the Spanish Panel of the International Wine & Spirits Competition several years ago, judging still wines as well as Sparkling Wines. Plus I have also been invited to judge for a few years now the 50 Great Cavas and the 50 Great Sparkling Wines of the World competitions. Indeed I’ve just returned from the latter.

It is really these recent competitions, along with having the extremely good fortune of having great, and generous friends who have been plying us with Champagne recently, that have inspired me to write this article, and to conclude that *Reserva and Gran Reserva Cava is better than NV Champagne!

Now, I’m quite sure that there are many readers who will say yes, they like Cava, but it has to be an option only if there is no Champagne. I’m also sure that some of that group will fully mean that, when tasting Champagne against Cava. However, and I’m neither preaching nor criticising here, I’m equally certain that there will be those who pay more attention to the Champagne hype than to their senses of smell, taste and touch (all three, crucial to wine appreciation, along with sight, and to a point, hearing)!

Many of us rely on the ‘fake news’, to put it in common parlance, of pre-conceived ideas, formed by a long and sustained brainwashing from the Champagne promotional machine. It’s understandable, and I’m certainly not pointing the admonishing finger here – there are vast sums of money being spent on promoting the ‘prestige’ of Champagne. After a while, we begin to believe it!

However when in Champagne a couple of years ago I learned that in fact everything is geared, mostly completely falsely, to maintaining this notion of prestige. Champagne is always sold at deliberately inflated prices! The land in Champagne is extremely expensive, far more so than it should be. Champagne grapes are the most expensive in the world. It’s all inflated in order to make consumers think that the finished product is the best!

Did you notice the *? Well, it’s there for a reason. Readers might accuse me of not comparing like for like – Reserva and Gra Reserva against Non Vintage Champagne. To a point I agree, however, if, instead, we compare prices then you’ll see what I mean. To me there is no doubt that these two styles of Cava represent far superior value for money – and definitely more flavours, aromas, presence and depth!

There are many to choose from but try those from Rovellats (www.cavasrovellats.com) and Adernat (www.adernats.cat) and let your senses speak to you!

WHO’D BE A WINE-MAKER?

Two years ago, I visited the nascent vineyard of Jody and John, respectively from California and Wirral, UK.

Jody is a world renowned expert (www.limoce.com) on the environmental impact of the search for, and supply of, natural resources buried underground, and often under water too. John is Captain of a ship which is involved in cross-ocean communication. They met when Jody was attached to the ship assessing environmental issues – a conflict of interests? Not at all, as they are now married and, when not travelling internationally (which they do a lot!), they are tending their young vines.

Recently we returned (as promised two years ago – just look it up in your Cork Talk scrapbook, you’ll see!), socially as we are good friends, but also with a view to catching up on the progress of their boutique, wholly none commercial (as yet?), winery.

Set in the lush (it had been raining heavily for a week or so before we arrived!) countryside of the Javea/Benitachell area the house is as picturesque as can be. Spongy green grass, manicured around the pools, with palms and other trees, here and there giving way to delightful rockeries and flowerbeds it speaks of nature’s, abundant luxurious tranquilty.

The tranquil theme continues when one visits the small, vigorously verdant vineyard to the rear of the house. En route one passes the air-conditioned bodega (wine store) whose insulated walls are lined with hundreds of terracotta bottle holders, as yet expectantly empty, save for a couple of dozen wines of their choice.

Also, at the entrance to the vineyard, which is sensibly fenced off to deter the wild boar, which are partial to grapes, there is also the scientific part of the operation, the laboratory. Jody’s chemist’s skills are allied to her knowledge of wine-making, as well as her educated palate, making for a perfect pairing, when it comes to the production of wine.

John defers to Jody, in all wine making matters, advising that, like Manuel of Faulty Towers fame, ‘I know nothing’, though this is clearly untrue, as John also has a discerning palate. It wasn’t just Jody who selected the wines that we recently enjoyed so much at their fabulous BBQ!

Two years ago there was some debate about which vines to grow. The answers are growing exceptionally well in the vineyard soils that sit atop clay at a depth of about a metre, ensuring that whatever rain falls, is kept available to searching routes.

Here we have, all trellised: Tempranillo (representing Spain); Monastrell (in the more local SE Spain corner); and, no surprise here, considering the provenance of the wine-maker, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, California style!

Sensibly, although the vines have produced the tiny flowers which, if allowed to, magically turn into grapes, these early efforts were pruned, and allowed to decompose into the soil – free, natural fertilizer! A vine should only be allowed to produce fruit destined to be made into wine, after a minimum of three years. Pruning them thoroughly during the first couple of years will enable the plants to concentrate on establishing themselves without having to expend energy on producing fruit.

So, as it’s now two years since the vineyard was planted, I think we can expect the first wines to made in the coming 2018 vintage – and we are hoping that we’ll be invited back to taste the results of all their hard work! Watch this space!

It would be something of a miracle, given the youth of the plants, if Jody and John’s wines next year match up to the excellent wines we were served for the BBQ – though it wouldn’t surprise me if, in years to come, they are making excellent wine here!

John, it seems, is something of a Champagne-ophile – and we weren’t complaining when he bought out a bottle, fresh, zesty Champagne as an aperitif! These bubbles were then followed by a Cava – holding this Spanish Sparkler on the palate it was clear to me that it had more body, more mouth-feel. I was sure it was a Reserva and guessed that it probably had a good proportion of Chardonnay in the mix (I admit that this was a combination of my palate as well as Jody’s origins that led me to this conclusion!).

They often buy the regular Perelada Brut cava, for easy drinking, so I was surprised when John told me that this was what we were tasting. However, he’d actually brought out the 100% Chardonnay, Reserva Perlada – a wholly fuller, deeper and more elegant cava!

We moved onto white wine, and why not an Albariño – in fact the lovely white flower and stoned fruit fragranced Lusco Albariño 2016 from Bodegas Pazos de Lusco, owned, interestingly, by Gonzalez Byass, of great Sherry acclaim. Pale gold in colour with a delightful fruit content and good finish too!

I know Barahonda Wines, from DO Yecla very well (please note imminent Musical Dinner* with Wine Pairing below!), so I was pleased to see their Syrah as the first red we tasted with all the excellent BBQ meats. But our hosts weren’t finished there – next came the iconic Santa Rosa from Bodegas Enrique Mendoza. Wow! Exemplary Cabernet Sauvignon based wine from SE Spain!

Finally we tasted on of the finest Pinot Noirs I have ever tasted – and it wasn’t Burgundy! From the Russian River area of California, Gary Farrell makes award winning, violet perfumed, super-elegant, fruit driven Pinot Noir – to die for, as Jody puts it!