Outsold by prosecco and outclassed by champagne, cava has had a lean time of it in recent years. In 2016, exports to Britain fell by 18%, a fact that, insist its advocates, says more about the failure of Spanish winemakers to market cava effectively than any inherent lack of quality.
At Christmas, cava may be regarded as a cheap base for a buck’s fizz, but its supporters argue that this wine, which is bottled-fermented like champagne, is a serious drink in its own right. “Fifteen-quid cava is almost always better than £15 champagne and it offers much better value than prosecco,” says Ben Wright, the co-owner of the Porta tapas bars in Altrincham and Chester. “At the lower price points, cava is consciously different to champagne. It is fresher and appley, as opposed to champagne’s more buttery, biscuity character. Cava is a great Christmas aperitif.”
Producers in cava’s Catalan heartland hope to address its reputation as a big-volume, low-expectation wine with a new classification, cava de paraje calificado, applied to a select band of single-estate cavas. These limited-production wines are made at the vineyard (larger producers have set aside designated growing areas) and aged for at least three years. Only 12 cavas have been granted that status so far, but the long-term aim is to clearly differentiate between different standards of cava, right up to these £100 bottles that, it is argued, can rival good champagne.
If that makeover works, this may be the last Christmas to grab some bargains before prices rise. “The quality versus price sweet spot is £10 to £15,” says Wright, who recommends Parés Baltà’s cava brut (£13.27). But what of the supermarket own-brands and exclusive lines, many of which cost less than £10? Will they add sparkle to your Christmas – or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
Sainsbury’s, Taste the Difference vintage cava, £9
This is made by a large producer, Codorníu, which has three paraje wines in its portfolio. This slightly scattergun wine is not one of them, but it capably demonstrates how mainstream cava usually has far more charisma than mainstream prosecco. This example includes some chardonnay and flickers with honeyed and buttered toast notes, but it is bracingly dry and full of cava’s distinctive citrus and apple flavours. It is reminiscent of farmhouse cider and funky, sour beers. 6/10
Waitrose, Castillo Perelada cava brut, £9.49
This brut cava (the second-driest category after brut nature) is made using a higher-than-normal proportion of parellada grapes, one of three varieties (the others are xarello and macabeo) classically used to make cava. To develop character, it is aged for 12 months on the lees [spent yeast], and tastes of honeydew melon, green apple and, most overtly, limes and lemon pith. Unexpected hints of Mediterranean herbs and wild flowers add intrigue to this crisp, spritzy drop. 7/10
Asda, Marques del Norte cava brut, £6
The best young cavas have a clean, zippy freshness to them, whereas this feels tired and flabby. Its short-lived aromas (pine cleaner, baked apples, something yeasty) are as confusing as its flavours. A rather aggressively fizzy mouthful, it tastes, albeit briefly, of sherbet lemons, boiled strawberry sweets and stewed apples. Its cidery acidity is jostled by fleeting, elusive and rather unpleasant ripe, dank notes. It is jarring and ham-fisted, a bull in a china shop of a wine. 3/10
WINNER! Ocado, Castellblanc cava brut, £7.49
If prosecco can be unbearably sweet and cheap champagne is often instant heartburn in a glass, cava is well-placed to plug that sparkling gap. But it can be limited in its green apple flavours. This vibrant cava goes way beyond that base competency. Lightly, tightly effervescent, it comes on like a classier, cleaner farmhouse cider, but quickly gives up a multitude of tropical flavours (white peach, overripe melon, limes) with a nice stony, mineral finish. It is engaging down to the last drop. 8/10
Marks & Spencer, Cava prestige brut, £11
M&S’s cava is charged with a pretty prickly, acidity-intensifying fizz, and is satisfyingly and drily fruity. Flavours of gooseberry, quince, peach, sun-drenched lemons and, of course, green apples waft past as you chug it down. A certain creaminess and something savoury going on beneath that fruit puts this at the aspiring-to-be-champagne end of the cava spectrum. It lacks pinpoint definition and cannot match the elegant intensity of Ocado’s cava, but it would effectively kickstart any Christmas celebration. 7/10
Tesco, Finest vintage cava, £9
This literally explodes out of the bottle and, for the first few frothy gulps, effervesces away to nothing. As it settles, like bad champagne it tastes very dry, acidic and narrow in its flavours of lime cordial, sharp, underripe lemons and shrivelled grapes. Later, you get brief flashes of peach, sticky strawberries and even bready champagne-like notes, but you have to concentrate hard to detect such nuances. Far more so than you will want to at a Christmas party. 4/10
Co-op, Irresistible cava brut, £6.99
This reserva – aged on the lees for at least 15 months – has a yeasty aroma and less confrontational demeanour than some of the drier, fizzier, more acidic cavas (Tesco, Morrison’s). It is softly bubbly and initially bright with apple, honeydew melon and lemon flavours that, unfortunately, fail to evolve interestingly. It falls into a rather monotonous apple-lemon groove which, if perfectly drinkable, lacks the complexity and verve that might get you going back for a second or third glass. 5/10
Morrisons, The Best vintage cava brut, £6.50
“A real party in a glass,” says Morrisons, which makes you worry about its copywriters and their idea of a good time. This smells limply unexciting (of hay and limes but also rotting gooseberries and wet cardboard), and tastes overwhelmingly dry and tart in that shrill way of cheap, overly fizzy champagnes. Its green apple and lemon flavours are stunted and unconvincing; wizened and harsh where you crave sunshine and gracefulness. We’ve all been to parties like this … and left early. 3/10
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