NV Cristalino Cava Brut

Community Tasting Notes (272) Avg Score: 85.3 points

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  4/16/2024 - caspernick Likes this wine: 88 Points

  Pale gold colored with medium intensity bubbles and low viscosity (11.5% ABV). The nose has medium (-) intensity aromas of white pear, brioche, grapefruit pith, white blossom and salted caramel. The palate is dry with medium (+) acidity, a light body and a medium (-) mousse. Flavors of citrus pith, brioche, white blossom, ripe white pear and lanolin. The mouthfeel is very smooth as the mousse has tamed itself with plenty of aging whilst the acidity is still bright and refreshing. The finish is a tasty affair that is medium in length and very satisfying- some spritz, some zing and fresh fruit surrounding the bready, brioche notes. This bottle has dubious provenance, it sat in my buddy Rewt's basement for god-knows-how-long yet is shows decent quality and aging capacity. As with most Non Vintage Cava, it is hard to tell the disgorgement date so I have no idea how long this bottle has slumbered. A curious web search made my jaw drop- $9. Yup, under 10 bones and you are drinking a very serviceable and delicious sparkler that is made in the traditional method out of Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo grapes. I would be looking to stock up for the summer, this is a porch-pounder for sure. 88 points, and 5 stars.
  
  https://wp.me/p125DB-3Aq

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  1/4/2024 - SpenceP wrote: 86 Points

  Same lot number but of course a different bottle (see my note of 12/18/2023)--and possibly a different "me". Whatever the cause, I'm tasting this slightly differently tonight: Green apple peel, a hint of grapefruit peel, a touch of yeast. Vivid acidity and a decent aftertaste. With time in the glass, the yeasty component becomes more prominent. I suspect that in my earlier tasting I had too many preconceptions of what the wine would be like, and that this description is the more accurate of the two--but it may just be that even within a single lot there's some modest variation. [Tasted over more than an hour from the Jancis Robinson glass.]

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  12/18/2023 - SpenceP wrote: 85 Points

  [Lot #L-F203 JS3 23: 17] Green apple peel, earthy minerals, good acidity, surprisingly long aftertaste. You can certainly do better by spending more. But if this is your budget, it is very hard to find a white wine, bubbly or still, this good without spending more. I have had other lots in the past (last tasted in 2019) that deserved a score a point or so higher than this--I don't know whether quality has gone ever so slightly down or if it's just this particular lot. [Tasted from the Jancis Robinson glass. Also tasted from the Conterno glass, which brought out a very pleasant faint hint of vanilla, and from the Riedel Vinum Chianti/Riesling/Zinfandel glass, which brought out an interesting herbal note. The scores, however, were identical from all three glasses.]{On an impulse, I pulled down the old Riedel Vinum NV Champagne glass, which I stopped using years ago. Surprise! The wine shows better (from some points of view) from this glass than from any of the others, with less specificity and clarity, but greater richness. I even thought about raising the score, but didn't do so. If you have this glass sitting around, consider pulling it out for this wine.} (Retasting this from another bottle, it seems to me that at least in this lot, whether deliberately or by chance, this wine has shifted in the direction of "international sparkling wine" and away from the very distinctive notes of cava. To my tastes, this is a move toward blandness, so I hope it was not a deliberate choice, and that the ginger and earthy metallic notes that are much harder to pick up in this lot will return in future lots of this wine.)

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  12/6/2023 - gpunch wrote: 79 Points

  Not worth getting philosophical over. All granny smith and rubber in the nose with one note tart lemon with considerable RS on the palate. Fairly high acid and large, active bubbles. Recommended for mimosas.

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  11/22/2023 - ChateauShiny Does not like this wine: 77 Points

  Tasted blindfolded. Light nose of green apple jolly rancher and not much else. Light bubbles on the tongue, high acidity, and high sugar level – somewhere between a dry and demi sec in sweetness. Palate is all over the place – green apples, crab apples, underripe lime, lychee, and a bit of minerals. Finish is way too long with sour apple candy, underripe citrus, and lemongrass.
  
  My first thought is this is a prosecco style bubbly made with Sauv Blanc and some other grapes. This does not taste like typical prosecco – nor does it taste like typical champagne-style blends.
  
  Taking my blindfold off – pale gold in color and a light stream of very fine bubbles. I stand by my thoughts on this.
  
  The reveal: Jaume Serra Cristalino Brut. Wait a second, this is a Brut?!?!?! This wine had a lot of R/S going into it.
  
  This is possibly the worst Cava I have ever consumed. $8.09/btl at Safeway w/ the 20% 6-bottle discount. Run away form this and buy yourself a bottle of Dibon Orange Label at $9.99 – you’ll thank me. If you need to slum it, even Cooks Grand Reserve will outclass this.

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