Renaixença Cava Brut NV

We love onomatopoeic words. Zip. Shuffle. Whoosh! They do more than convey meaning, they bring words to life. So saying, we reckon 'Renaixença' is pretty onomatopoeic, which is handy when writing a tasting note...

Said with a rolled 'r', the 'Ren' is like this Cava's gently playful fizz; the 'ai' is like the subtly creamy notes; the 'xença' (pronounced 'shensa') is like the cool, clean rush of green fruit that whooshes over the palate like a cooling breeze in a Spanish orchard. Boom!

Miquel Pons is the name of the family that has for 250 years and several generations cared for the samevines, making wine and bottling cava in their village of La Granada del Penedès. Today the winery works with 60 hectares of vines. Since 1980, Joan and Pere Pons have led the winery into the 21st century, having built a new facility and introduced advanced machinery.

However, they have preserved some traditional techniques of Cava production, such as manual disgorgement, to ensure that generations of knowledge are preserved. They always try to spread and share the culture of the land and the people, their dedication, love of viticulture, winemaking and respect of nature.

Winemaker Joan Miquel Canals, now a professor at the Oenology Faculty of Tarragona, is a member of several commissions of DO tasting evaluations. He is a specialist on tastings and studies about corks as well as on the elaboration of sparkling wines.

Produced in the warm hills of Vilafranca del Penedés, which is 40km northwest of Barcelona, tempered by the cooling Atlantic breeze, the Macabeo, Perellada, Xarel.lo grapes grow on sandy, clay-like, rocky soil, which is poor in organic matter and provides good drainage.

It was made using the ‘Méthode Champignois' – i.e. when secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle – and spent 20 months on its lees before natural disgorgement. A small dosage of sugar was added, meaning this Cava is rich and creamy but still dry.

Complex notes of yeast and green fruits are found on the nose and on the palate, it is elegant and rich, with a longer, dry finish. This Cava is versatile and can be enjoyed on its own or with many lighter dishes.