Spanish Sparkling Wine Picks by Our SF Bubbly Expert
Scott Beckerley’s first love is Champagne, but he’s a huge fan of the elegance and value of Spanish sparklers.
There are several great things about the sparkling wines of Spain. My very favorite is the ratio of quality to value. You can get some excellent wines of superior quality for under $40. I had the opportunity, care of K&L Spanish & Portuguese Wine Buyer Kirk Walker, to taste quite a few of these on Valentine’s Day eve. I am familiar with some of them while others are brand new to me.
I have been enjoying the wines from biodynamic wine pioneer Raventós i Blanc for at least the past 10 years, and the current 2022 Raventós i Blanc "Blanc de Blancs" Brut Conca del Riu Anoia $22.99 is one of their best bottlings yet. The nose is super fragrant with fresh citrus, a touch of honeydew melon, minerals, and savory smoke. Very neat! On the palate, it’s zippy and clean with generous sea salt, ginger spice (think those chewy ginger candies!), lemon-lime, and almond cookies. Yum! I always enjoy this with ceviche or sashimi.
New to me is the 2019 Recaredo "Terrers" Brut Nature Corpinnat $38.99. I’m already a sucker for Brut Nature bubbles, so this hits all the right notes for me. Not that I love all of them! This one, however, I do love. The nose on this one is so good! I caught a whiff of light spearmint, pear purée, clean pine nut, white flowers, lemon. So darn interesting! It has great mouthfeel, too. More richness than expected, with lovely but not jarring acidity. It is clean and fresh. White orchard fruits, tangy minerals, and a citrus note that leans more toward mellow than overly acidic. There is a nice herbal note and a very fine bead with creamy mouthfeel. The finish is extremely long and has the pleasant citrus and salt bite that one expects from Brut Nature. Compare this one to any Champagne of the same caliber or higher.
Another newbie is the 2021 Mas Candi Corpinnat Brut Nature $24.99. My cup runneth over! Another Brut Nature! This one runs truer to what we usually see with Brut Nature. A clean, citrus nose with upfront scents of white pears, yellow apple, vanilla croissant. Supple on the palate. A beautiful bead with creamy texture. Concise and to the point with minerals, bright lemon, tart apple, and pastry dough. The finish starts off very clean and quickly becomes creamy and elegant. Quite a bit of bubble for not much money.
Lastly, there is one that I have long been a fan of. The 2019 Mestres "Coquet" Gran Reserva Brut Nature Cava $29.99 is and always will be so enjoyable. Plus, it’s yet another Brut Nature! The nose on this beauty is more honeyed and rich than the other three selections presented here. That’s not a bad thing! In addition to that, you have scents of white cake, white peach, pear, pink grapefruit, and hazelnut. This segues into flavors of tart apple, baked caramel, grapefruit, and cream. The key word for this bottling is creamy, creamy, creamy.
Lastly, one other thing about these bubbles. The first three selections are organic and biodynamic, with hand-picked fruit. The Mestres is also organic, though not certified, as of yet. All of them practice earth-friendly viticulture and focus upon old vines and native varietals. So, they not only taste good but, are good to you and to the earth!