Cellar Profile
The Madrid-based Long family is one of Spain’s premier negotiants. The company was born from the hand of William Long, who fell in love with the country and its wines when he won a WSET scholarship to travel there. This small, talented team of professionals has been dedicated to sourcing, producing, marketing and exporting New-World style, award-winning Spanish wines around the world for nearly two decades.
Region
Located southwest of the Spanish city of Barcelona, the Penedès wine appellation straddles two coastal provinces, Barcelona in the north and Tarragona further south. The Penedès vineyards are divided into three sub-regions, related to topography: low (maritime), central and high. The region stretches westward and inland from the Mediterranean Sea over undulations and hills known as the Catalan coastal depression, the coastal range and the pre-coastal mountains where vines thrive at up to 2,600 feet (800 meters) elevation. Mediterranean winters are generally mild, while summers are hot with average temperatures hovering in the 30°C range. The clay, sand and limestone soils below the grapes are generally dry and friable, conducive to letting vines penetrate deeply.
Vineyard
Estate vineyards in Espiells, the highest part of the Cava region, at the foot of the mountain of Montserrat. 20 hectares of vines planted in gravelly mountain soils, with large amounts of limestone, allowing for great drainage. The vineyards are exposed to extremely chilly evenings, with hot summer days during the growing season, allowing for large diurnal shifts.
Winemaking
Grapes are harvested earlier than you would harvest most still wines, with an eye towards retaining fresh acidity. Co-fermented in stainless steel until a base wine (approx 10% abv) is created. The wine is bottled, given a little dash of yeast and grape juice, then sealed with a crown cap, trapping in the bubbles created by carbon dioxide during the secondary fermentation. After 15 months in bottle, sitting on its gross lees, the wine is disgorged, given a little dosage and sealed with a cork and wire capsule.
Varieties
Parellada is the most delicate of the traditional white varieties of the Penedès. It produces white wines which are aromatic and dry, with a moderate alcohol content and a delicate, fruity acidity. Macabeo is found mainly in the Central Penedès and is the grape which contributes a fruity aroma and lively acidity to these blends. Xarel-lo, the 3rd traditional variety of the region, can produce great white wines (oaked or unoaked) either alone, or blended. Fruity dry whites made from Xarel·lo are considered the most typical of the Penedès.
Tasting Notes
Acclaimed winemaker Damia Deas, the President of the Institut del Cava, has crafted this incredible value-priced Cava. There is the biscuit, curd and smoky, leesy character we know and love on the nose, but there are also aromas of green apple and grapefruit. On the palate, the green apple carries through, along with Meyer lemon, beeswax, brioche and toast. Mouthwatering acidity and a creamy mousse are textbook Cava.