Winemaker Notes
The entry on the palate is powerful, with great structure. The very fine bubbles melt into the wine and provide a velvety texture. It has great freshness and verticality, with a finish full of mineral sensations.
It is a fully gastronomic wine. Thanks to the balance between structure, creaminess and freshness, it goes well with an infinity of raw materials and elaborations, among which we highlight Iberian ham, foie, cold meats, seafood, rice dishes and spoon dishes, such as marmitako.
Blend: 70% Xarel·lo, 30% Macabeo
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2014 was a bit of a groundbreaking year for the sparkling wines from Gramona; they achieved their first Demeter certifications and bought a new Champagne press. They feel the wines have gained in precision, and the 2014 Brut Nature III Lustros (so far, this is certified organic) might show it. It's a blend of 75% Xarel.lo and 25% Macabeo and has the textbook nose of the aged sparkling wines from the zone, balsamic, Mediterranean, with notes of esparto grass and thyme, a touch of bay leaf and subtle yeasts and baked bread. This has a longer time in bottle with lees, 87 months, and that gives very small bubbles and has a dry finish. It has one gram of sugar and high acidity and freshness, and it comes through as sharp and very tasty. Classical III Lustros. This has to be one of the finest recent vintages of this bottling. 50,000 bottles produced. From here on, this included, the sparkling wines age in bottle with cork, which has a big influence; the previous wines, with a shorter time sur lie (La Cuvee, Imperial and Innoble), age with a crown cap.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
A superior source of white grapes for the production of Spain’s prized sparkling wine, Cava, the Penedes region is part of Catalunya and sits just south of Barcelona. Medio Penedès is the most productive source of the Cava grapes, Macabeo, Xarel-lo, and Parellada. Penedes also grows Garnacha and Tempranillo (here called Ull de Llebre in Catalan), for high quality reds and rosès.