From: Penedès, Catalonia, Spain
Blend: Parellada, Macabeo, Pinot Noir
Taste: Its pale straw hue and abundant presence of fine bubbles give it a vibrant character. The nose is greeted with a complex and captivating bouquet that seamlessly integrates white floral notes with the freshness of green apple and a subtle vanilla undertone. This is beautifully balanced by a yeasty sourdough bread aroma that adds depth and a touch of rusticity to the bouquet. The palate, described as quite frothy, the wine exhibits a dry and slightly creamy texture, providing a delightful tactile experience. The body leans towards a light-medium spectrum, underlined by a medium-plus acidity that imparts the wine a clean and polished demeanor. It is verdant and crisp with tones of green apples and a white pepper spice that tickles the palate. A chalky minerality forms the backdrop of the taste profile, integrating toast nuances and hints of citrus and saline that add complexity and depth.
Pairing: Its effervescence and relative dryness make it an excellent choice to cut through the richness of creamy sauces, making your fish pie or foie gras experience truly delightful. It also pairs harmoniously with various cheeses, particularly sheep milk varieties. This sparkling wine also showcases its adaptability with diverse rice dishes, including but not limited to Paella and risotto, but extending a welcoming hand to Iranian jeweled rice. Cava's compatibility with salads is also remarkable, thanks to its dry notes that do not clash with vinaigrettes. It even elevates salads containing fruit like apples, grapes, oranges. Seafood enthusiasts would be thrilled to pair it with an array from anchovies to zestful zarzuela (seafood stew), a pairing emphatically advocated by culinary experts like José Pizarro, who suggests gambas al ajillo as a quintessential match.
Spanish-Style Shrimp With Garlic
By Martha Rose Shulman
About. High above the amphitheater formation near the Montserrat pinnacle, which marks the northern boundary of Penedès, lies the historic Can Feixes estate, an embodiment of tradition and the epitome of vine cultivation. The region, noted for its continental extremes in temperature and drier climate, is the fertile ground where the local grape variety Parellada, affectionately referred to as Montonec or "grape of the mountain," finds its home. The estate, acknowledged as the region's Grand Cru, harbors an intricately interwoven ecosystem, where cultivated and wild lands exist in a symbiotic relationship, epitomizing agricultural biodiversity.
At an elevation of 400 meters, the vineyard experiences extreme thermal conditions, nurturing the grapes into a slow yet fruitful ripening process that culminates in a harvest rich in concentration and a velvety texture. The estate, owned by the Huguet family since 1945, employs techniques that harmonize with the gravelly, limestone-rich soil that, despite its seemingly limiting attributes, fosters the growth of grapes with a singular character and unparalleled quality. This blend of soil and climate serves as a crucible, cultivating varieties such as Parellada, Macabeo, and Pinot Noir, each contributing to the estate's unique and finely crafted range of wines and Corpinnats.
Josep Maria Huguet, the current custodian of this time-honored tradition, oversees the production of the Huguet de Can Feixes Corpinnat Brut Nature, a sparkling gem in the Can Feixes crown. Crafted meticulously from a hand-picked selection of grapes that undergo a gentle pneumatic press and fermentation in stainless steel tanks, this Brut Nature represents the apex of winemaking craftsmanship. The wine matures gracefully, first for six months in stainless steel, followed by a minimum of seven years in the bottle, without adding any sweet expedition liquor, embodying the purity and finesse that Can Feixes is renowned for.
But the legacy of Can Feixes transcends the boundaries of winemaking. Recognizing the inseparable bond between the vine and its surroundings, the estate is a pioneer in regenerative viticulture, spearheading a project funded by the Rural Development Program of Catalonia. This initiative aims to revitalize the vitality and health of agricultural soils, fostering a sustainable approach to vineyard agriculture. Through innovative practices, the project seeks to enhance the utilization capacity of rainwater, minimize soil erosion, and bolster the overall biodiversity of the vineyard ecosystem, seamlessly integrating it into the surrounding environments and preserving the landscape's intrinsic value.
Under the vigilant eye of the family, the Can Feixes estate produces 6,000 cases annually under the strict guidelines of the "Corpinnat" designation. Corpinnat is a distinctive designation established in 2018 to distinguish a group of wine producers in the Penedès region of Catalonia, Spain, who adhere to strict quality standards for sparkling wine production, going beyond the requirements of the Cava DO, the prominent sparkling wine appellation in the region. Wines bearing the Corpinnat designation are crafted from hand-harvested organic grapes and entirely vinified on the property of the individual producer, fostering a closer connection to the terroir and promoting sustainable viticultural practices. The initiative emphasizes high-quality production, with a commitment to local grape varieties, including a minimum of 90% indigenous grapes and a longer aging process that enhances the complexity and depth of the wines.
