Masia de la Luz Cava Brut
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Wong
Wilfred
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The Masia de la Luz Cava is bright, lively, and authentic. TASTING NOTES: This wine exhibits aromas and flavors of ripe fruit and floral notes. Enjoy it as the first wine of the evening as guests arrive. (Tasted: February 1, 2022, San Francisco, CA)
The family-based estate produces and markets an extensive line-up of Cavas, which are known worldwide for their great quality. Created in 1992, Pere Ventura is the founder of this winery in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia (Barcelona), which takes his name and makes sparkling wines under the DO Cava appellation. It is one of the most exclusive companies in the wine sector, synonym of elegance, style and prestige. The estate's vineyards are non-irrigated and those where there is a risk of overproduction, a covering of vegetation is used as a self-regulating production method. There is little interference with the vines as we prefer to respect each vineyard’s own ecology. The few treatments applied follow the criteria of organic farming and integrated management. A lot of effort is concentrated on the use of preventive methods to stave off fungal diseases (mildew, botrytis, etc.), and through a stringent control of the use of vegetation coverings, fertilizers are kept to a minimum. At grape harvest time, the grapes are picked by hand at the break of day to save energy on cooling the grapes when they are brought into the winery. The estate actively practices organic farming, integrated pest and disease management.
The vineyards are in the Baix Penedes and Central Penedes areas at an average altitude of 250 meters above sea level, with deep soils and average water retention capacity. The vines have been set out on espalier, with Royat type trimming or in a traditional basin, with pre-trimming and green trimming common practice in both cases. The harvesting is done manually and production is 12,000 kg/Ha. Once each variety has been collected separately, the grapes are de-stemmed and the pulp is cooled to 14°C before pneumatic pressing at 0.2 bar. Then the flower must is separated 55%, followed by the static silting. The fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature of between 16 and 18°C. After careful coupage of the three varieties, gentle clarification is performed, as well as tartar stabilization and final filtering. The second fermentation takes place in the bottle with the traditional method, with minimum ageing on lees for 15 months.
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
What is Cava?
Spain adopted the word, cava, which technically means ‘cellar’ in Catalan, to describe their sparkling wines made using the traditional method. While this style was first created outside of Spain in the 1600s, its birthplace inside of Spain came in 1872 when Jose Raventós of Codorníu first produced traditional method sparkling wine in the town of San Sadurní d’Anoia. Uniquely, the Cava denomination isn’t restricted to one geographical area but rather, it spans eight total wine regions. However, about 90% of Spain’s total production of Cava, Spanish sparkling wine happens within Catalonia, and about 75% is produced within the borders of San Sadurní d’Anoia, inside the smaller Catalan region of Penedès. In 2019, Spain registered nearly 38,000 hectares of vineyards for Cava production, compared to just under 34,000 in Champagne.
How is Cava sparkling wine made?
Cava, like many other sparkling wines of the world is made using the traditional method, or "Champagne method," or método tradicional in Spanish, in which the second fermentation (the one that makes the bubbles) takes place inside the bottle. With this method, spent yeast cells remain in contact with the wine during bottle aging, giving it a creamy mouthful, a toasted bread or brioche quality and in many cases, the capacity to age.
What are the Cava wine grapes?
The mainstay Cava grape varieties include Macabeo, Parellada, and Xarel-lo. Macabeo, also known as Viura, lends pleasant aromatics to the blend, while Parellada adds acidity and finesse. Xarel-lo is the grape that gives body, earth and greengage characteristics to Cava. Occasionally Chardonnay is used as a blending grape or sole variety in making Cava wine. Governmental inclusion approval was awarded in 1986 but still, Chardonnay makes up only a fraction of total vineyard area. For rosé, in Spanish called rosado, the local Trepat and Garnacha can be used, along with Pinot Noir (first permitted in 1998 for rosado and in 2007 for white Cavas).
Cava Tasting Profile
Since Cava is a sparkling wine produced on the Mediterranean where temperatures are warmer and there is more sunshine compared with Champagne, you can expect that Cava sparkling wine will generally have a gentler acid profile compared with its French counterpart. Furthermore, especially when the indigenous varieties are used, common Cava flavors will include citrus peel, fennel, wildflower, lemon blossom and flint or saline. Most Cava is produced in the Brut style, so dry, with a slightly rounder finish that balances brightness with brioche notes and supple fruit. Brut Nature or Zero Dosage examples are bone dry, whereas Extra-Dry Cava will be slightly sweet and a Demi-Sec Cava will have the highest sweetness level.
Cava Pairings
One of the best things about pairing Cava wine is you can drink it on its own or with just about any food! But if you want to focus on bringing out Cava's uniquely brilliant bouquet and citrus notes, rich or seafood-centric dishes are perfect food pairings for Cava. Try Cava with butter poached lobster, seafood risotto, puff pastry and caramelized onions or fried chicken.