2016 Pere Mata Cava Cupada Rosé

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Cavas, 2/21/2019

  (Pere Mata Cupada Rose Cava Brut Nature Reserva) Hello friends. It used to be that if you were willing to tiptoe through a sea of forgettable plonk you could find an incredible source of value in Cava. Though time consuming, that was never a deterrent for us. We have always been willing to kiss as many frogs as it takes to find a prince. However, as of late, the minefield of forgettable plonk has become more and more memorable. We’re seeing vintage Cava from century-old vineyards; up-and-coming Spanish producers making thoughtful, terroir driven juice; champenoise method sparkling that spends years en tirage for a fraction of the cost of contemporaries in other countries. Today, we have three exceptional examples: The 2015 vintage of this wine was one of our favorite sparkling finds last year. This is the newest vintage, which comes with an even better price tag than the 2015 at $17.99. 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, Brut Nature Cava Reserva. And even better yet—it’s pink. It’s sourced entirely from estate vineyards on calcareous-clay soils in the heart of Penedès, 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 yeasty bread, green grass, and rose petals. The palate is nervy as can be—softened only by touches of strawberries and cream. The bubbles cascade; the finish makes your mouth water; it all begs for the next sip or—better yet—next bite of food. I’d suggest these crispy pork chops with buttered radishes from the New York Times.