2015 Pere Mata Cava Cupada Rosé

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Friday Reoffers: Spain Edition, 1/18/2019

  (Pere Mata Cupada Rose Cava Brut Nature Reserva) Hello friends. Each Friday in January, we’re going to reoffer popular wines from the past year or two where we still have limited stock remaining in the warehouse. These are all immediate gratification plays, with no long waits for the wines’ arrival. Last week was Italy. This week, we’re heading to Spain:Thomas Calder has long been a reference-point export agent for French wines (see this Spectator article to learn about what that means), and now seems to be edging into Spain. As usual, he knocks it out of the park in terms of QPR, bringing over a vintage-dated Cava Reserva at ultra-dry (Brut Nature) dosage level. And did I mention it’s pink? It comes all from estate vineyards on calcareous-clay soils, and blends the three usual suspects in Cava (Macabeu, Parellada, Xarel-lo) with Monastrell for color. After 30 months lees-ageing, it is disgorged with zero dosage. Listed alc is 11.5%, this pours pale pink into the glass, and it begins with a glorious nose of strawberry fruit complicated by bread and roses. What could be better? The palate is seriously dry and austere, a perfect summer sparkler, just as tense and nervy as can be. The acid-driven finish is mouthwatering and asks for the next sip or – better yet – next bite of food.

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Bubble Bubble, 7/16/2018

  (Pere Mata Cupada Rose Cava Brut Nature Reserva) Hello friends. It has been *ages* since I’ve written a mixed bubbly offer. Dylan has been crushing the bubbles lately, and she’d probably be crushing this offer too, but for the fact that she happened to be on vacation when I tasted three out of these four wines. A good excuse for me to swoop back in and re-tell Full Pull’s bubble-flecked origin story. As the legend goes, when Full Pull started back in 2009, my wife and I developed a simple agreement. Her responsibility: supply several years of steady income and health insurance. My responsibility: keep at least a case of sparkling wine on hand at all times. Bubbly was good for celebrating the small victories, for drowning the sorrows of the small losses, and as much as our palate preferences have changed over the subsequent decade, sparkling wine has never gone out of fashion in our house (I just checked; six out of the nine bottles in our fridge at the moment are semi- to fully-sparkling). Today I want to feature a quartet of bubbly bottlings that have recently charmed: a pair from the PacNW, and a pair from Europe:Thomas Calder has long been a reference-point export agent for French wines (see this Spectator article to learn about what that means), and now seems to be edging into Spain. As usual, he knocks it out of the park in terms of QPR, bringing over a vintage-dated Cava Reserva at ultra-dry (Brut Nature) dosage level. And did I mention it’s pink? It comes all from estate vineyards on calcareous-clay soils, and blends the three usual suspects in Cava (Macabeu, Parellada, Xarel-lo) with Monastrell for color. After 30 months lees-ageing, it is disgorged with zero dosage. Listed alc is 11.5%, this pours pale pink into the glass, and it begins with a glorious nose of strawberry fruit complicated by bread and roses. What could be better? The palate is seriously dry and austere, a perfect summer sparkler, just as tense and nervy as can be. The acid-driven finish is mouthwatering and asks for the next sip or – better yet – next bite of food.